Naruto Shippuden: In your heart
by Catsi563
Summary: The hotly anticipated Sequel to In your arms, and In your eyes. As Naruto and Sakura's wedding approaches friends and family prepare for the ceremony in there own special ways. True loves are found and old loves return. Enjoy. NaruSaku other pairings
1. Prologue: Here comes the Bride

**In your heart**

A NaruSaku story

Prologue: Here comes the Bride

* * *

_A Heaven on Earth I have won by wooing thee_

_~William Shakespeare_

_And the river was deep I didn't falter  
When the mountain was high  
I still believed  
When the valley was low  
It didn't stop me  
I knew you were waiting  
Knew you were waiting for me_

_~George Michael and Aretha Franklin_

* * *

The sounds of battle had died down as the two adversaries faced off against each other on the battlefield. The tired Iwa-nin the last one standing of his companions flew through a series of rapid hand signs as he fired off a lethal jutsu.

"**Doton: Shredding earth bullets!!"** He cried out pushing his hands out towards his opponent.

A large pointed stone ripped itself from the ground and the pointed end aligned itself at the Konoha-Nin across the field from him, who was panting in the middle of a series of smooth rounded craters. The stone suddenly fractured and small fragments launched themselves at lethal velocities. As it looked like his exhausted opponent would be shredded by the deadly barrage the Leaf nin suddenly spun in a circle and released a vortex of chakra which destroyed or deflected the stones.

Sakai, Tosho cursed as the Kaiten stopped his latest attack cold for the umpteenth time. Still he smirked to himself. His opponent was clearly exhausted, which was to be expected considering he had fought off the bulk of the Rock force sent against him and his team. At the same time a small feeling of discomfort went through his stomach at that thought. Of the nearly forty strong force of Rock shinobi sent to intercept the four man leaf team escorting the scrolls they had come for, all but three were left. The majority had been taken down single handedly by the man standing before him with his accursed Byakugan eyes. Yet Tosho knew that his reinforcements were closer than the leaf Jonin's were. He felt the vibrations through his feet that indicated that the ten strong reserve force was close by. This bolstered his confidence and he decided he could afford to taunt the Leaf shinobi a little.

"Your good there's no doubt, but you're exhausted, and you're alone. My friends have killed your teammate by now and my reinforcements are on the way. Surrender now, and I'll make sure your given an honorable death." He commanded his voice showing the confidence of those who thought they had the upper hand.

To his eternal surprise, and rage not only did the Konoha Jonin not surrender he actually laughed mockingly at him.

"Surrender; to the likes of you?" Neji Hyuuga snorted as if the idea were absurd which of course it was. "Yes I am exhausted and my chakra is low. But I still have more than enough strength to kill you and complete my mission." Neji's voice held not a shred of doubt in it and this infuriated Tosho.

"You're a fool!!" Tosho snarled in rage at the Hyuuga's mocking tone. He was angered also by the fact that the Hyuuga seemed to be looking past him instead of at him as if he were irrelevant.

"Now DIE!!!" He began a rapid series of hand signs to perform another jutsu but was interrupted as a cold voice whispered in his ear.

"I couldn't agree more." The shudder down his spine was amplified as he looked down and found that he was covered in a virtual swarm of insects. The Kikaichu bugs quickly swarmed him and with a strangled cry he fell to the ground dead his chakra drained completely. Shino Aburami stood there for a moment as his many small friends returned themselves to his body. He noted that Hyuuga, Neji seemed to slump slightly before straightening up and taking a deep breath.

"You are unharmed?" Shino asked him in that quiet monotone voice of his as he regarded the Hyuuga prodigy and his teammate for this mission.

"Yes, for now; though we may have to move soon." Shino watched as Neji activated his Byakugan and quickly scanned the area before settling his gaze on the north. "He wasn't exaggerating when he said his reinforcements were close." Shino's response was merely to nod in agreement.

"Where are the others?" Neji asked as he recalled the two Chunin who he had sent ahead of him as he held the Iwa-nin off. One had been wounded and the other carried the scrolls they had so rigorously defended.

"My bugs are still alive but that's all I can tell from this distance. In truth once I knew they were safe I came back here to make sure you were as well."

"You came back for me? Why…?" Neji seemed surprised that the stoic Aburame would risk his safety for someone he hardly knew.

"Hinata, asked me to look out for you." Was the quiet reply causing Neji to smirk. He should have known, Shino was Hinata-sama's teammate so naturally his gentle cousin would ask him to look out for his well being.

No sooner had the words left Shino's mouth when ten figures suddenly burst from the ground to surround them. The two leaf shinobi put their backs together to better guard each other, and took up defensive stances. Neji cursed inwardly. He had allowed himself to be distracted by Shino's statement and missed that the shinobi he'd been looking for had vanished from his field of vision. He quickly looked around with his Byakugan and studied their opponents. They were all Chunin with a single Jonin leading them. It was then that he saw something that made a wicked smirk make its way across his face.

"Surrender now and we'll let you live." Neji spoke loud and clear with an air of total confidence as if they were not the ones surrounded and outnumbered ten to two. Shino maintaining his stoic and quiet demeanor was curious since the Hyuuga behind him was not one given to vainglorious boasts. He reached out with his senses to see if Neji knew something he didn't and found what he was looking for. Their reinforcement was on her way, and Neji could see that with his Byakugan.

"Yes our reinforcements are almost here and you won't be able to withstand her power..." Shino offered as casually as if he were talking about the blue sky overhead.

"…Especially since she's late for the preparations for her wedding." Neji nearly laughed at Shino's comment though the smile on his face was not a humorous one.

The Rock shinobi around them laughed mockingly before raising various weapons and cautiously approaching their opponents. Just as the Jonin was about to signal the attack they were interrupted as a pink blur flashed in front of their vision and the ten of them were thrown from their feet by a massive shockwave which deformed the ground around them in a large radius.

"W-W-Who are you…?" one of the downed Chunin stammered as he took in the person before them who had done so much damage. She was a beautiful woman around eighteen years of age. A head of long pink hair confined by a red ribbon with a Konoha forehead protector blew around her in the wind and was offset by a pair of intense emerald green eyes that blazed angrily at them. She wore a scarlet top underneath a white medic-nins vest, a pair of black shorts beneath a pink skirt, and a pair of tall boots. Completing the outfit was a pair of forearm length gloves.

"I'm the apprentice of the Godaime Hokage Tsunade, one of the Neo-Sannin, and fiancé of the most powerful ninja in the world Naruto Uzumaki." She spoke softly though her voice carried an edge that bespoke the awesome power at her disposal.

"My name; is Haruno, Sakura."

An involuntary shudder went down the Iwa-nin's spines as they realized who they were facing. Still they had a mission to complete, and fallen comrades to avenge. So they stood their ground and prepared to do battle. After all they were ten strong men of Iwagakure, and she was just a single Konoha female surely the legends about her were exaggerated.

"You two should be running now." Sakura quietly told the two behind her.

"And be forced to listen to Naruto yell at us about leaving you behind; Never!" Was Neji's bemused reply. Sakura smirked before replying back.

"Well don't say I didn't warn you." She smiled before launching herself like a missile at one of rock shinobi. The battle that followed was brief and to the eyes of the two leaf shinobi shockingly one sided.

With a howl the Rock-nin charged in at the roseate haired lioness in front of them. Kunai and shuriken were thrown along with several boulders one of which passed close enough that Neji and Shino were forced to leap backwards to avoid it. However Sakura was untouched, no matter what the Rock shinobi tried they could not touch her. Blades missed her by inches, punches and kicks never connected as she dodged and danced as gracefully as her namesake on the wind, avoiding every attack. But it was when she attacked that her true strength was shown. Sakura was like a force of nature; utilizing Tsunade's Iron-Fist taijutsu combined with several martial arts styles learned elsewhere, her fighting style was lethally efficient and brutally straight forward. She attacked with all of her limbs. Hands, elbows, feet, legs, knees, and at one point even used her head to knock the Jonin out with a head butt and a follow up knee strike to the groin that caused both Neji, and even the ever stoic Shino to wince. Her raw power crushed bones, and burst organs with each strike, and all to soon she stood alone and victorious amidst a bevy of destroyed humanity.

Sakura dropped the unconscious Rock Jonin, and walked over to her friends with a serious expression on her face. "Why didn't you two send for help earlier?" she asked them somewhat accusingly. "I was close enough to help." This time there was no mistaking the accusation in her voice and both men gulped softly. They had just witnessed her decimate a ten strong group of Chunin and a Jonin with nothing more than Taijutsu, and with no more effort than it took to brush the dirt off her white medics vest. As such they did not wish to brave the brunt of her considerable wrath.

It was Shino that answered first his voice as quiet and stoic as always "As Neji told you, did you think we would want to listen to Naruto lecture us about your safety if we let anything happen to you?"

"Yes, much less what the Hokage would do to us." Neji was quick to add, as Sakura used her healing jutsu to ease the ache of his muscles. "What of the others?" Neji quickly asked in a somewhat indelicate attempt to distract the irritated roseate haired woman.

"They're fine." She replied with a huff. "I healed Subaki's leg and sent them on ahead. Shun'o has the scrolls safe in her possession, and they should be halfway to Konoha by now. "She answered casually apparently unwilling to continue the argument as she concentrated on healing their—mostly minor—injuries.

Finally she finished and nodded apparently satisfied with her work, and gave the two of them a cheeky grin. "Well then, It looks like I'll have to have a talk with my fiancé about his over protectiveness as soon as we get back wont I?" she replied before turning and leaping away leaving Neji and Shino standing there with their jaws hanging open.

For a moment the two men stood there contemplating the topics of discussion the Fox and the Cherry blossom would share, before both decided it was best not to contemplate further and leapt after her as they headed for Konoha.

-ooOoo-

Two weeks.

She had been away from him for two lousy weeks on this accursed mission. Away from home, away from her job at the hospital, away from her friends, and most importantly away from him; Naruto, her fiancé, her soulmate, her best friend, fiancé, and the love of her life.

"_Naruto…" _Just thinking the name made her go all light hearted and giddy with anticipation. She imagined him scooping her up in a crushing bear hug while he kissed her passionately before using his Wild Storm flight technique to fly her to their apartment where he'd do things to her that caused a bright red blush to spread across her cheeks. Inner Sakura was gleefully rubbing her hands in anticipation as well.

Sakura could only smile at the thoughts of what they shared. Naruto was the bright shining sun in her life. She orbited him as surely as the earth did the sun. He was her center, heart, mind, body, and soul. Over the course of her life he had waited for her, showing her nothing but love and affection always. Always standing up for her, building her self esteem and confidence with every word, never once doubting her or thinking her weak. Even though he went out of his way to protect her he never held it against her. Instead he would fight all the harder for her. No matter whom the enemy he would protect her, even from herself. He was her Earth, her strength and courage in the darkest times. When she wanted to quit, or was at her limits he would be surpassing his, he would drive himself to exhaustion and beyond, and then he would come back for more. This inspiration was what drove her to excel under Tsunade during the two and half years he was away. It was also what had made her fall deeply, madly, and whole heartedly in love with him.

Soon the gates of Konoha appeared before them, and sure enough a familiar chakra signature was felt by the trio. As this signature became apparent Sakura suddenly sped up trying to reach them as quickly as possible. Her excitement was all but showing on her face, and Neji could only smirk and shake his head. She had been gone from Konoha for two weeks now as their backup and she had surely missed her blond lover. Sure enough he looked out with his Byakugan; the white eyes scanning ahead brought into focus the enormous chakra flow of a single individual. Again Neji smiled as he increased his speed to keep up with Sakura who was beginning to out pace them both. Sakura's excitement was infectious as even Shino smirked slightly while he leapt forward as well eager to get home and see his teammates again.

-ooOoo-

Two weeks.

She had been gone for two weeks from Konoha on this accursed mission. Two weeks of fear and anxiety while he worried about her safety, worried night and day about the love of his life. Next to him on top of the wall Ino sat and placed a gentle reassuring hand on his shoulder. He gave her a small smile of thanks which she returned, but his gut still twisted and bubbled unpleasantly. So he resumed pacing praying to every spirit he knew that she would return ok.

He knew he was worrying over nothing really. After all she was with Shino and Neji, two of Konoha's strongest Jonin, and quite frankly she was more than capable in her own right. Still that didn't stop the worry from eating its way into his insides, especially with rumors of Rock shinobi in the area making its way to his ears. The two Chunin who had been with Neji and Shino had returned and passed on the information that Sakura had healed one of them before leaving to go and rescue the two Jonin, that was the last they had seen of her, and so naturally he worried.

And rightly so; after all she was the love of his life, his heart, soul, and everything good he had in his whole misbegotten life was tied up in her happiness, well being and safety. She was everything to him, his wildest fantasy, his clearest reality all wrapped up in a pink haired bombshell that could knock him off his feet with even the tiniest smile. She was his Heaven; the sharp mind, and keen wit that kept him safe, and the courage and determination that pushed him to strive ever onwards towards his dreams. He knew he wouldn't be able to relax until she was safely inside the gates of Konoha, safely inside his arms. Than he would hold her, and kiss her, and finally relax as he listened to her talk about the mission while he massaged her sore shoulders, and nuzzled into her silky pink hair.

Naruto spared a brief glance to his right as he took in the purple clad, platinum blond beauty at his side. Ino sat there on top of the wall overlooking the forest as casually as a house cat sunning herself—which she was in truth—apparently having no worries at all. Her sparkling turquoise eyes looked up at him and twinkled with happiness and a hint of mischief as she blushed slightly before smiling back at him.

Naruto smirked inwardly a bit; ever since they had come back from their vacation Ino whom he already considered a friend, and who Sakura considered a sister, had been very openly flirtatious with him. Apparently she had seen he and Sakura make love together, and it had shaken her up pretty good. Still Ino was a strong girl and a good friend to them both. So she had taken to the role of big sister for him with aplomb and grace.

She had also taken to the role of Maid of Honor with equal aplomb. Working hard to make sure that their upcoming wedding went off without a hitch, and that all the preparations were in order. Her vivaciousness, and intelligence, and sharp tongue enabled her to get things done quickly and so their wedding date approached and soon he and Sakura would be husband and wife.

The very thought both exhilarated and scared him half to death, however before he could contemplate that thought further, something caught the attention of his Kyuubi enhanced senses. A whiff of strawberries, and cherry blossoms carried on the wind towards him, far away but approaching fast. Ino started as he leapt to the edge and stared hard in the direction he'd smelt the scent coming from.

"Is it them?" she asked him eagerly. He didn't answer her focused as he was on extending the range of his senses as far as he could. For a moment nothing was there, and he felt a small twinge of disappointment, but then at the edge of his vision he saw it, a flash of pink and red that could only be his one and only love. Ino was about to ask again when suddenly she was buffeted by a gust of wind as Naruto shot skyward like a rocket before flying off in a black and orange blur. The expletive she was about to spurt died on her lips, and was replaced with a chuckle as the orange and black blur, became an orange, black, red, and pink blur which zoomed out of the forest and swooped past her before circling Konoha once, then rocketing skywards where it slowed down and just floated high overhead drawing a lot of stares, and quite a few comments from the citizens.

Ino could only shake her head before she leapt down to the ground and waved in greeting to Neji and Shino who had just arrived at the gates via the more conventional method.

"Ino-san." Neji greeted her formally, he looked a little tired but otherwise unscathed. Hinata would be happy about that she thought, as well as happy that her teammate was unharmed as well.

"Hi Neji-sempai, Shino-san, made it home safely I see." she smiled back at them.

"Of course." Shino replied quietly as if it were an everyday occurrence. "The others are safe? "He asked her in that monotone voice of his that you almost had to strain to hear sometimes.

"Yeah they arrived two hours ahead of you and already reported to Tsuande-sama." She replied evenly with a smile.

"Good than we should do the same." Neji replied before bowing to her "We'll see you at the weekly get together tonight Ino-san." He than turned and with Shino behind him leapt to the roofs and made his way to the Hokage's tower to report leaving a sighing Ino to make her way back to the flower shop.

-ooOoo-

Sakura was leaping from branch to branch at a good clip as she could clearly see the gates even as far away as they were when suddenly she screamed in surprise as a blond, black and orange blur swooped down out of the sky and caught her in midair before rocketing skywards over Konoha. Her scream turned into a joyous laugh as she felt herself soaring above Konoha and carried bridal style by a familiar pair of arms. Quickly she wrapped her arms around Naruto, and buried her head in the crook of his neck as the wind whistled past her.

Naruto flew in an exited circle around Konoha soaring overhead and shouting an exited YAHOO before going ballistic and stopping in midair high above Konoha where he relaxed and allowed the thermals and air currents to push them slowly along with the clouds. As they drifted his lips captured hers in a kiss that left her as breathless as her sudden ascent had. Gently he readjusted her in his arms so that his were wrapped securely around her waist, and hers wrapped around his neck. Together they began to sway back and forth dancing slowly high above the roofs of Konoha to a music only they could hear.

"Your back, I missed you so much." He whispered softly while resting his forehead against hers.

"You're a dork; but you're sweet to." She chuckled slightly before kissing him softly. Their lips flowed together like soft honey, sweet and gentle and stayed that way until the need for air forced them apart briefly.

"Wanna go home?" he asked her his sapphire blues met her emerald greens and stayed locked in her gaze as he took in all that she was with a look.

"I am home." She sighed softly while nuzzling into his neck "I'm here in your arms, and everything's right with my world." She finished softly feeling the soft rumble in his chest as he chuckled happily. Then she felt him nuzzling and nibbling and kissing his way down her neck which caused a small moan to emit from her throat.

"Keep it up Fox; you may have to follow through before you're done." she purred as his lips did more sinful things to her neck. Suddenly his lips closed with hers clashing together like two storm fronts. A tempest of lust ensnared them pushing them further and deeper into the storm that was their love.

"I'd better go report to Tsunade-Shishou." She sighed softly as their lips parted once more and she laid her head against his chest.

"Meh! Baachan can wait besides, Neji and Shino can fill her in." He grumbled unwilling to let her go now that he had her back in his arms.

"Naruto you know better than that." She scolded him though her voice was soft and had no real edge to it. "Drop me off at her office and I'll meet you at home so I can shower. Then we'll go to the get together tonight."

She smirked as he put on that adorable pout she loved so much. "What if I don't wanna go?" he whined slightly causing her to narrow her eyes at him, before she saw him get a mischievous grin on his face that usually meant she would be getting into trouble.

"Instead what if I want to take you to bed and make up for the last two weeks we missed?" He smirked while nuzzling her neck causing Sakura to feel a pleasant shudder run down her spine. "**HOME NOW!!"** Inner Sakura made her preference known loud and clear. But Sakura quickly mastered herself and narrowed her eyes at him.

"Hokage's office, now babe." she poked him in the ribs to emphasize her point, before smiling beautifully at him.

"Yes babe." He responded with a smile before kissing her gently. Sakura moaned softly before deepening the kiss as his tongue began a soft exploration of her mouth. She felt a small lurch as they began to descend slowly down from the sky before they touched down on the roof of the Hokage tower as light as a feather.

"Go home, get showered, and I'll see you soon." She crossed her arms to emphasize her point. He saluted cockily before kissing her long and deep. She felt her knees go weak and if he hadn't cupped his hands on her cheeks she certainly would have dropped to the ground in a daze. But no sooner had the kiss begun then it ended and he was airborne again soaring off towards their apartment.

Chuckling softly Sakura thought that maybe just maybe she'd give her Shishou a fast report before quickly making her way home. Then maybe she and Naruto could share the shower. Sakura allowed the thought to percolate in her brain a bit as she made her way to the Hokage's office to report in.

**To be continued**

* * *

**Naruto owned by Masahashi Kishimoto**

**Story owned by me**


	2. Chapter 1 Teamates

**In your heart**

A NaruSaku story

Chapter 1: Teammates

* * *

_Love consists in this, that two solitudes protect and touch and greet each other.  
__**- **__Rainer Maria Rilke_

_I am whispering your name  
I am telling to the wind  
Your love has brought me here  
'Til I see you again  
I am opening the door  
I will let this moment in  
Your love will find me here  
'Til I see you again_

_~Jim Brickman Feat Mark Schultz_

* * *

The sight of a person sitting on a water tower reading a book was not something that would draw attention in Konoha normally, as this was a ninja village and thus people leaping bouncing and otherwise standing or sitting in odd positions was to be expected. Thus no one turned even a second glance at the man perched on top of the water tower reading a familiar green book as they went about the normal daily routines.

This of course was how Hatake Kakashi the famed copy ninja preferred it of course. Left alone, to his own devices he could safely observe the daily routines of the citizenry and thus enabled better protect them from the various ills that threatened to take everything from them. Appearances aside it could not be said that he was unobservant. In point of fact he was amazingly keen of sense and wit. The lazy demeanor and the perverted novel very carefully laid out fronts that distracted the casual viewer from knowing just how much he truly saw from behind the pages, and just how much he truly overheard as well.

However even the most keen observer can be distracted and so it was this day with Kakashi. It wasn't so much the sight of his erstwhile students flying high above the streets of Konoha that distracted him though he got a good chuckle from the display of Naruto's Arial affections towards his cute little Kunoichi student. No it was the messenger hawk circling high overhead before swooping down and landing on his outstretched arm. Retrieving the small red ribbon from the hawk's ankle he rewarded the trained bird with a piece of jerky he kept for just such occasions. The raptor happily gulped down the meat before leaping skywards to return to its rookery its mission completed satisfactorily.

Kakashi on the other hand frowned slightly. He had a bad feeling, and his intuitions were usually spot on. If the small orange string tied to the ribbon was any indication; he would soon have a very irate pink haired young woman on his hands, not to mention her equally irate and scary Maid of honor. If that were the case than best he make sure that he and her fiancé were sooner off on their mission so they could get back before the wedding.

Standing up and closing his book with a snap the famed copy nin vanished from the spot leaving not a trace that he'd ever sat there at all.

-ooOoo-

It was thus distracted that Kakashi failed to notice the arrival in Konoha of a newcomer. Though she would say she was simply returning home after all these years.

Senses honed by years of training and instinct caught the swiftly vanishing presence on the water tower, but when she looked no one was there. The young woman in her simple travelers cloak with her short brown hair and bright honey eyes quickly dismissed the presence as it was already long gone, and she would surely sense many more such presences in her time back.

Smiling brightly at the young Genin with the glasses who handed her passport and Konoha ID back to her; she happened to glance over at the young mans teammate with his spiky brown hair and long blue scarf, who was arguing with his red headed teammate apparently over the fact that he hadn't asked her to accompany him to the wedding yet.

She watched the two banter back and forth a bit before chuckling slightly as the pigtailed redhead irately bashed the young man on the top of his head driving him to the gorund before turning around and stalking off in a huff.

This time there was no stifling the laugh that came as she knelt down and offered the young man a hand to his feet. Something in his cocky demeanor, and innocent expression reminded her greatly of the young man she'd come to see. In point of fact something about the whole scene reminded her both of the young man, and his pink haired fiancé. Thus it was with a merry twinkle in her eyes as she helped the young man to his feet before laying a gentle hand on top of his tousled brown hair, and thus the lump that was rapidly forming there.

"I don't know what she's so upset about. Sheesh! I mean it's not like I forgot I just haven't gotten around to it yet." He grumbled with a rather annoyed tone.

"Girls can only wait so long before they grow tired of giving hints and clues." She offered him the best advice she had with a warm smile on her features that caused the young man to brighten up immediately. The grin he gave her back was infectious—just like his she noted—as he looked up at her.

"Well it is an important date. It'll be our first when we go to Naruto Onii-chan's wedding together." He crowed proudly.

"Onii chan…?" she looked at him oddly for a moment while removing her hand from his head. "Are you and Naruto-kun related?" she asked curiosity lacing her voice.

"Nope but he's like a big brother to me, and he's taught me soo much as a mentor. I'm gonna be a part of the wedding as ring bearer for them." He again flashed that brilliant smile and gave her a thumbs up.

"Very good then, I'll see you there." She smiled back at him causing a small blush to form on his cheeks.

"Really? You know Naruto Onii-chan and Sakura Nee-chan?" he asked curiously.

She chuckled softly before replying. "Yes I do. I met them recently in fact on their vacation, and they helped me a lot. So I came back here to help them with the wedding if they'll have me."

"Well then you'll have to talk to me I'm afraid." Another voice intruded on their conversation.

"Ino-san!" Konohomaru chirped up with a smile, as the platinum blond beauty handed a pile of papers to Udon with a smile.

"I just came by to drop these off for Lady Tsunade." She smiled brightly at the newcomer. "It's good to see you again Rin-san." She offered warmly.

"And you as well Ino-san. The two ladies smiled before engaging in a brief hug. They had talked several times with Sakura before Ino had had to leave to return to Konoha, and the two had become friends.

"Come on we have to get you to the Hokage's office first and then settled in. Then there's dress fitting, the rehearsal, the tasting…" Ino went on to list a rather long number of things she would have to help with as one of Sakura's chosen bridesmaids.

As they walked away Konohomaru also shook his head. He didn't know how Naruto-Onii-chan put up with that bossy woman. Still he didn't give it too much thought he had other problems to deal with. Such as a still angry Moegi, and this cabbage merchant who was now annoying him.

It wouldn't be until an hour later that he'd realize that the lump he'd felt forming on his head was no longer there, and hadn't been there since he met the mysterious Rin.

-ooOoo-

"Yes I'm afraid you heard me right Kakashi." The Godaime Hokage sighed in exasperation while addressing her most skilled Jonin. Reaching down she absentmindedly stroked the head of her cherished pet Ton-Ton the small pig grunting happily at the display of affection.

"You do know…" Kakashi began before she interrupted him "Yes I do."

"Then you also know how she…" Kakashi again began before being interrupted "Yes Kakashi I know about the little tramp. But she's the Princess of the Rainbow country and if she requests a shinobi escort to the wedding of the century, and a specific named escort at that then there's nothing I can do." She sighed in exasperation a move that was mirrored by Kakashi.

"Well then there's nothing too it but to go and get packed." He smiled at her genuinely before stepping out the window. He tossed a good luck over his shoulder as he spied a pink haired storm approaching the Hokage's tower before vanishing having already discussed and memorized the details of what promised to be an Interesting next few days, and having no desire to be anywhere near the young woman who could shatter buildings by looking at them cross-eyed.

Thus yet again did Kakashi escape the mortal peril of having to explain to Sakura how he had to take her fiancé on a mission to escort the Princess of Rainbow country to Konoha to view her wedding, and how the young woman smitten with Naruto since she had met him had personally asked for Naruto to be her escort. It did not escape him the reason why he had been asked to go instead of Sakura. The sight of the young and attractive Rainbow Princess hanging off of and flirting with her Fiancé would most likely have driven Sakura to murder and Konoha to an international incedent.

Not to mention what she would then have done to the princess afterwards.

-ooOoo-

Rin could only shake her head as Ino went on with out seeming to take a breath. She listened intently making a small list of suggestions, changes, and general helpful advice she would give when the time was right.

"Oh and there's one more thing I'll need your help with, if what I just found out is true." Ino added shaking Rin out of her thoughts.

"What's that?" She asked as she looked into Ino's teal blue eyes she failed to notice a figure leap away from the Hokage's office mere moments before the structurally reinforced multistory building shook violently.

"That's what." Ino sighed before gulping in what seemed to be slight terror.

Eyes wide Rin could only follow her before her eyes widened again at the scene before her. Peeking through the rather large and obvious hole in the wall, she spied the sight of a roseate haired young woman in a verbal sparring match with a much older yet still beautiful Tsunade. Rin could only smile fondly at the memories of her first teacher of the medical arts and though she wanted to make her presence known to both decided it would be safer to eavesdrop with Ino for now.

"How the hell could you send him on an escort mission less than a week before our wedding?!! And to escort HER!! Of all people!!" Sakura railed at her beloved Shisou, she had only just heard from Shizune that "The Slut." As Sakura referred to her was not only coming to her wedding,—something that annoyed her no end—but had incidentally asked for a shinobi escort.

No what really pushed her launch buttons was that The Slut had asked—No Demanded!!—Her Fiance! As a personal escort, and to top it off she had decided that she would not be traveling to the wedding until just now a journey which could take from 2-3 days there and back if the little whore had her way. It hadn't escaped Sakura's notice how she had clung onto her Naruto the last time they'd met. I mean sure he had saved her life, and sure he had preserved her throne, and sure he had cluelessly in his own oblivious way endeared himself to the Princess.

But Dammit he was HER fiancé and this was HER wedding and she'd be fried and served to the Inuzuka's dogs before she allowed "The Slut" to get her claws into HER soon to be husband.

Tsunade of course was none to happy about the situation nor about having her wall caved in since Sakura hadn't bothered to open the door deciding that making one of her own would be sufficient. Still she was the last of the Sannin, and The Hokage and thus would conduct herself in a fashion dictated by her position. She promptly shattered her desk with a downward fist and got forehead to diamond marked forehead with her precious apprentice.

"You know I couldn't refuse her request for diplomatic reasons!!" She shouted back with all the vigor of her own strength. "She has a right as a sovereign leader to request a shinobi escort and a named one at that as long as the persons available!! Naruto was available period end of statement!!"

"She'll be all over him!!!" Sakura roared back "Just like she was the last time. Hanging off him like a freaking towel!!" she railed back as lighting crackled between them.

"Better hope they don't need to bathe on the way then." Tsunade smirked as she ribbed her apprentice.

Maybe a mistake considering how powerful Sakura had become, but Tsunade was as stubborn as her student was and she couldn't resist, and so got the desired effect as Sakura launched off into another profanity laced tirade that blew her blond pigtails back before she too exploded and they began another round of back and forth argument and name calling.

"So she actually did it?" Came a quiet voice from behind them which startled both women.

"Sasuke-kun? What are you doing here?' Ino acknowledged the Uchiha heir.

Rin too looked him over appreciatively. He was of course handsome, tall and athletic carrying himself with a presence and power that bespoke both his heritage and his newfound resolve. Of course Rin knew none of these things, only the stories she'd been told by Naruto and Sakura and their friends and the rumors of course that circulated all over the Fire country.

Sasuke looked her over for a moment before nodding fractionally in acknowledgement before turning to Ino to reply.

"I only just arrived; I was turning in a mission when the building shook. I heard that the Rainbow Princess was coming but I didn't think The Hokage would send him of all people as an escort this close to the wedding." He replied simply.

"I assume this is the same one who was abducted in a coup attempt last year?" Rin asked curiously.

Sasuke grunted in assent before excusing himself and stepping into the Hokage's office via the convenient person sized hole where the door should be.

"Sasuke-Kun Do something!!" Sakura railed at him now clearly on a tear "She's sending Naruto out to escort that SLUT!!" Sakura pointed an accusing finger at the Godaime Hokage who responded in the mature fashion of sticking her tongue out at her pink haired apprentice.

"What precisely would you have me do?" he asked plainly "It's a mission he has to go, he'll come back, and it's not like he'll do anything with her." Sasuke snorted at the very thought of Naruto being unfaithful to the woman in front of him. He then turned and handed Tsuande the report of his latest successful A-ranked mission pointedly ignoring the fuming Pink haired woman to his side.

Rin sensing the danger cleared her throat slightly. The small sound caught Sakura's attention and at the sight caused all the anger to leave her immediately.

"You came!" she chirped excitedly as she rushed over and gave the brown haired former medic-nin an affectionate hug.

"Of course I did." Rin replied happily. "I wouldn't have missed this for the world. I'm sorry it took me a little longer to get here than I planned but I had to square some things with the village before I left." She explained before venturing cautiously "Are you ok? You don't seem happy." She asked plaintively before leading Sakura out of the office and down the hall as Sakura began a marathon rant about the evils of Rainbow Princess's and absent fiancés. Ino following in there wake gave an apologetic wave to the stunned Hokage and an equally stunned Sasuke before disappearing down the hallway to follow them.

-ooOoo-

Naruto of course had not been happy to be called away from his bride to be this close to the wedding, and on the heels of her having just returned from a dangerous two week mission in rock country to boot. Still when Kakashi had explained that it would be good to give Sakura time to herself he had reluctantly agreed. So the two had quickly packed and met at the front gate with Kakashi's admonition that "The sooner there the sooner back." ringing in Naruto's ears as he looked ready and eager to be gone.

Kakashi of course congratulated himself on his brilliant thinking for motivating the Kyuubi container. His thoughts were lost a couple moments later when Naruto grabbed him under the arms and before more than a choked protestation could rise from his lips the pair shot skyward Naruto using his rapidly becoming famous **Yasei Arashi **technique to launch them both skyward at dizzying speeds across the fields and forests of The Fire country towards the waterfalls and springs of Rainbow.

This of course lead to Naruto having to greet the guards as a disheveled Kakashi relieved himself of the burden of the lunch he had eaten earlier that day. It wasn't so much the flight itself that had hit him, but that his most prized pupil had grown to like performing aerobatic maneuvers that theoretically shouldn't be possible.

Yet being the number one most surprising Ninja not only had he mastered a technique thought to be impossible even for a genius of the Yondaimes caliber, but had perfected it and made it look so easy that he could soar like a bird across the sky with ease.

It was his total and complete faith in himself that enabled him to do so Kakashi decided as he thought about it. Naruto did what he said. If Naruto said he would fly than he did, if you said it couldn't be done he found a way. It was truly that simple. Still as amazing as it had felt to soar through the sky with him Kakashi was glad that they would have their feet firmly planted upon the ground on the return trip.

It was with this rather pleasant thought in mind that Kakashi greeted the guards and the Chamberlin of Rainbow Gachou and the Princess Fumiko standing nearby. Fumiko-hime fidgeted slightly as the formal greetings were exchanged before launching herself onto Naruto in a crushing hug which left the surprised Kyuubi container looking for a way out and subconsciously wandering if his pink haired wife to be heard about this incident what she'd do to him.

Smiling gently Kakashi helped extract Naruto from his precarious predicament by stating matter of factly that they should be on their way soon if they wanted to make the wedding which Gachou readily agreed to. Fumiko of course pouted and stated she wasn't ready to go inspite of the carriage with its load of luggage sitting nearby. However she was soon seated into the carriage and babbling on endlessly about how her country had come so far thanks to Naruto's help.

Naruto of course chuckled slightly but assured her it was all her doing and that it was her having the courage to change and stand up to villains who had usurped her fathers throne that had inspired her people to rise up and make things better. This of course earned a blush and a squeal of happiness from the younger girl. Fumiko made to kiss her hero on the lips but to Kakashi's great amusement she found herself kissing a small plush toad. The real Naruto he noted had replaced himself and was already soaring high overhead, ostensibly scouting the area from above but in reality avoiding the pouting Princess in the carriage below.

Shaking his head Kakashi lost himself to the pages of his book as Fumiko looked everywhere for her Hero except in the one direction that mattered.

"_Rin…"_ the thought popped unbidden into his mind "_What would you have done I wondered if you were in this situation?"_

The question went unanswered though as it always did for him. Obito was dead and long buried as was his father, and Rin was gone, vanished many years ago her fate unknown and presumed to be final. Something though nagged at the back of his mind as he watched Naruto soar high overhead as carefree as a bird his arms spread so he could catch the thermals and updrafts. Something he and Sakura had mentioned about a meeting a friend who had helped them both in different ways while on vacation. Their descriptions of the woman had been deliberately vague and they had merely commented that she would be one of Sakura's bridesmaids. But he could pry no further information from them on the subject and they simply told him he'd meet her when he met her.

A more Suspicious man might have felt he were being set up. Kakashi of course new he was being set up but for what he had no idea. Sakura had made some snide remarks about getting him a date for the wedding that didn't include his book. But he had brushed those off as her being snarky with her sensei as they were want to do.

Still the feeling that things were about to get very interesting wouldn't leave him and so he read his book and wondered again at when exactly his cute little Genin had gone and grown up on him.

-ooOoo-

Rin was wondering if the job of bridesmaid had included the description of babysitter as well. She had in no short order made herself indispensable to both Ino and Sakura in the short time since her arrival in Konohagakure. She had helped to make sure the dresses were fit to all three bridesmaids whom she had finally met. There was bold Temari, the shy but beautiful Hinata, and herself of course. Along with Ino the commanding Maid of Honor, now they stood by helpless as they tried to comfort a sobbing Sakura who in the midst of the final fitting for her own dress had broken into tears and was now crying inconsolably about how bad she missed her Naruto and how she was certain she was going to lose him to the Rainbow Princess Fumiko.

All four women assured her with varying degrees of success that of course Naruto would never cheat on her and that they would have a beautiful wedding as soon as he returned. Hinata she noted blushed slightly whenever Naruto's name was mentioned and she made a mental note to speak with the young Hyuuga heir at some point to clear up any potential misunderstandings.

Hinata's assurances though seemed to do the trick, and after a brief group hug the women were promptly fitted and walked out of the store with the owner's assurances that the dresses would be ready within 24 hours if he had to sew them himself.

The Cake selection had proven interesting in that Sakura had insisted that some small part of it had to be orange to show her support for Naruto's favorite color. The cake makers suggestion that orange was a hideous color and had more business on an autumn solstice cake then a wedding cake had resulted in the owner sitting on the ground with the entire cake splattered on his head. A brief apology by Ino had followed and the ladies simply decided that Sakura's mother would bake the cake as she'd insisted that she do all along.

This of course lead to another round of sobbing from the soon to be bride as a laughing child wearing a bright orange swimsuit had run past them while being chased by a bunch of squealing girls. Sakura had first grown nostalgic, then thoughtful, and then the tears had come. Temari had made an offhand comment about it being her time of the month, which had earned her a glower from Ino as the comment had elicited another round of sobs from the overwrought Kunoichi. Rin had tactfully suggested that they call it a day and get some dinner before resuming tomorrow. She had turned to recommend a certain Ramen Stand she had seen during their errands earlier, but had Ino silence her with a quick slicing gesture across her throat. Hinata's whispered explanation about it being Naruto's favorite restaurant silenced that idea and she offered barbeque instead.

"_Kakashi…"_ The thought came unbidden into her mind. Not surprisingly he had been much on her mind as of late. The stories Naruto and Sakura had told her during their vacation and during Naruto's brief hospital stay had struck her heart cleanly and she felt that she had much to make up for to her former teammate. She had run far away after Obito's death, the pain being too much to bear. The all too late realization of her feelings for him and acknowledgement of his feelings for her in the wake of his death had stabbed her through the heart as cleanly as any sword could. It had left a gaping wound, and though dear Kakashi had tried his best to fill it, things had been too awkward for them both. They were both still young, and Kakashi was reeling as much from Obito's death as she was. The acknowledgement of his first true friend and the subsequent loss of said friend had wounded him as painfully as she had been.

In the end to her shame, her carelessness had nearly cost them both on a mission, and so it was with tears in her eyes that she had approached the Yondaime Hokage and asked to be released from her ninja duties as she could no longer carry them out. He had reluctantly granted her permission to leave, before hugging her and sending her off. It would be one of his last official acts before the coming of the Kyuubi and his subsequent death. She had tried to make it back to Konoha for the funeral but things had been so chaotic back then that it simply wasn't possible.

So she had drifted from one town to another, using her skills and the saved money she had gotten from Minato-Sensei as a bonus to live off of. She had heard second hand from friends and Konoha Nin she met from time to time that Kakashi had buried himself into Anbu after she left, and while she also tried to catch news about Naruto and Kushina all she had been able to find was that Kushina had died in childbirth, and That Naruto was an orphan and ward of the state. Thusly did she find herself wandering until the day that she settled into a small riverside resort community popular with the wealthy. She found work as a part time nurse and home care specialist. And so that was how she lived for ten long years, quietly and without notice making few friends and keeping mostly to herself.

Oh she'd had men who tried to flirt with her of course, and she wasn't celibate by any means, but the truth was that she could never put her full heart into any relationship no matter how sweet or nice. If she were to be honest with herself she felt she'd left her heart carved into the cenotaph and with the one eye of her lost teammate which now resided along side the good eye of her other lost teammate.

Still hope sprang anew. She had met Naruto and Sakura, and she'd had heard their story, and she had shared their pain. And in the end she had found a new heart and a chance at a new story maybe even one with a happy ending. If only she had the courage to reach out and take it with both hands just as her friends had.

So she would let the moment happen when it did, and she would be there to reach out and take it in both hands. So he would find her or she would find him, and then they would be whole again. Complete, and together as it should be.

And as it always should have been.

-ooOoo-

Kakashi wondered often as he sat and stretched out in the luxurious hot springs how things might have been between them if Rin had lived. How might they have turned out for him and her? Would they be married? Would they have children of their own? Would Naruto have grown up alone as an orphan or would he have been adopted by the two of them and lived the happy if somewhat interesting life of the son of Shinobi parents.

Too many questions, too many what ifs Kakashi decided. The answers were simple in their own way. Yes he would have been adopted, he was his sensei's son and He and Rin would have demanded to adopt him. He would have grown up happy and healthy and loved. He would have been at the top of his class and the Rookie of the year at 12, Chunin at 14 and Jonin at 16 without even batting an eyelash. He and Rin would have stood by at his graduation from the academy and watched proudly as he accepted his headband, and then laughed as he and Sasuke avoided the fangirls including Sakura who would be his girlfriend and promptly chase away all the others to stake her claim.

A small laugh bubbled up from Kakashi's chest and he let it go before it was interrupted by a familiar voice chuckling from behind.

"What's so funny Kakashi sensei?" Naruto inquired half curious, half happy his sensei could still laugh after all they had been through.

"Nothing Naruto, nothing important." He replied evenly but with a smile. Naruto clearly didn't believe him but instead of pressing decided to let it go and relax into the hot steaming water. For a moment Kakashi took it upon himself to study his one time student and take the measure of how he had grown. He could easily see why the ladies now fawned all over him just as the young Princess did. His height had started to reach into a solid five foot nine nearly ten inches, with a strong and firm and toned athletic build. Lithe and flexible he reminded Kakashi of the panthers he'd seen in the Konoha Zoo. His smooth flawless skin had only one marring feature on it. A spiral shaped scar over his right breast that matched one on his back. It was a personal mark of shame for Kakashi as he narrowed his eyes at it.

His only original technique, used to nearly kill his own student by the student he'd taught it too in the first place. More than once he regretted not keeping a closer eye on Sasuke in those days, more than once he regretted not putting an end to him personally before he could betray Konoha and Naruto as he had done.

Of a certain Sasuke had redeemed himself in the end, yet the reminders of that day stayed with them all. A shared pain, and a scar that all of them carried though only one ever had to show it on his body only one ever had to live with that reminder every day. Deciding that his thoughts were turning down darker roads best left unexplored in these happier times Kakashi decided to lighten the mood back up a little with his favorite pastime.

Teasing his student.

"Where's your number one fan?" Kakashi asked shrewdly with a small smirk in his voice and beneath the towel that replaced his ever present mask. He laughed again at Naruto's innocent and completely truthful response.

"Back home in Konoha." He sighed before continuing "I sure hope we get there tomorrow." He added wistfully.

"She is there isn't she?" Kakashi responded with a genuine smile "Though I was referring to the other one that were escorting here." He noted shrewdly that Naruto scrunched up his nose in disgust before pouting.

"She's back in the hotel sleeping. Complained she was tired" Naruto smirked mischievously.

"Really…?" So her state of fatigue wouldn't have anything to do with a small dose of sedative slipped into her drink at dinner tonight at all then." His words were as much shrewd statement as question causing Naruto to blow a raspberry in his direction.

"Please as if I'd stoop so low…" he snorted

"Uhuh…" Was Kakashi's simple reply stating that he didn't believe a word of it but wasn't going to push the matter. Instead he went back to relaxing.

Yes many things were back in Konoha. Hope, redemption, passion, love, action, mystery, drama, pain, fear but the greatest of these was and always had been love. The young man relaxing in the hot water across from him with his wild blond hair and striking blue eyes was proof enough of that. Together with only his incredible capacity for Love and Selflessness he had transcended the boundaries of the Ninja world and stood atop it as the greatest example of its most cherished ideals. Truly when the time came, when he was ready he would make an amazing Hokage, a Hokage that Kakashi would willingly follow into the very gates of Hell itself; a man who Kakashi Hatake would be proud to lay down his life for.

Yes Hope was what Kakashi felt right now Hope that when they returned on the morrow things would be right for them all. Something was lifting his spirits; maybe it was the warm water of the hot springs, or the impending wedding of his two most precious people. Or maybe something else, he simply didn't know. Instead he decided he would simply open the door to his heart, and let the moment in. That way the hope would find him again when it was time.

-ooOoo-

The next day passed quickly and they arrived without incident at the gates of Konoha where Naruto promptly found himself glomped by his pink haired fiancé who stuck a very unlady like tongue out at an outraged Fumiko-Hime. Naruto very promptly excused them both and before any could protest shot skyward with Sakura in his arms leaving a gaping crowd to pick its collective jaws up off the ground as the pair disappeared to who knew where.

So as Kakashi made his way to the Hokage's office to report the successful completion of their mission—Naruto being indisposed for who knew how long—he was distracted by of all things a little old lady with a heavy burden to carry.

Sighing wistfully as he seemed to remember a prank pulled on him by his erstwhile students some time ago Kakashi offered his assistance and changed directions toward her small store.

Rin of course was making her way to the gate to see him and to find Sakura who had been a wreck for the last forty eight hours straight. Even though they had been successful in completing most of the wedding preparations there were several that required the groom's presence. Also she knew Kakashi had accompanied him, and so was looking forward to seeing him again after all these years.

As she waited she was grabbed by both arms as Ino on one side and Temari on the other dragged her off for as it was put to her a "Bridesmaids only night" Where the girls would speak about all sorts of things but mostly about their favorite topic which of course was the guys and so on and so forth.

It was in this way that Rin was pulled down one side of the street just as Kakashi was going in the other direction. The moment of their meeting delayed for a while to come.

Yet it would come they both somehow knew. It could be a day it could be a week, but what they were waiting for would come. And then they would open the door and their love would find them again.

**To be continued**


	3. Chapter 2 Maid of Honor

**In your heart**

A NaruSaku Story

Chapter 2: Maid of Honor

* * *

_Infatuation is when you think that he's as sexy as Sasuke, as smart as Shikamaru, as noble as Neji, as courageous as Naruto, and as athletic as Rock Lee._

_Love is when you realize that he's as sexy as Rock Lee, as smart as Kiba, as funny as Shino, as athletic as Choji, and nothing like Naruto -- but you'll take him anyway. _

_~~Sakura to Ino_

_You've always been  
Time and again  
The one to take my hand  
And show to me it's okay to be  
Just the way I am  
With no apology_

Oh you've always been  
And you will 'til God knows when  
Yes you've always been a friend to me

_~~Garth Brooks_

* * *

Soft bubbles caressed pink skin as she luxuriated in a rose scented heaven. Sakura "hmmmd" softly as Naruto gently massaged her shoulders easing the tension of the last few days. Sakura felt the stress and exhaustion leave her as his hands worked their own particular brand of magic. Fingers nimble from years of forming seals dug into her tense muscles and she shuddered in pleasure as a pulse of chakra swept down her spine. His chakra was warm and comforting, and combined with the scent from the rose petals scattered in the milk of magnesia infused hot bath water they now shared, combined to create an environment that caused her to relax back into Naruto's chest with a yawn.

"Tired?" he chuckled softly as he nibbled her ear. "hmmmm" was the only reply he received as he wrapped his arms around her waist and she entwined her fingers with his. She was about to simply slip into a well earned nap when she was woken from her reverie by a familiar voice.

"Aww …! She's so cute it makes me want to barf." Came the teasing voice of her maid of honor. Sakura looked up surprised to see her best friend standing in the doorway looking at her and Naruto with a cross between a perverted leer and a good natured smirk.

"Go away pig." Sakura gestured weakly splashing a little of the soapy water her way. Ino nimbly dodged it before sashaying over and sitting by the bathtub in their apartment. Naruto started to fidget slightly at Ino standing over them while he was naked with her but she stilled him by squeezing his hand and pulling his arms closer around her.

"So this is where you two disappeared to." She stated matter of factly while putting her elbows on the tubs edge and resting her chin in her palms while her eyes twinkled mischievously.

"What do you want Ino?" Sakura sighed in exasperation "Can't you see were busy?"

"Oh I can, but I also had to make sure you two didn't begin the honeymoon too early." She offered casually smiling as two sets of cheeks blushed red. This time Sakura's splash was on target.

"Hah!" she laughed "Serves you right piggy for being a perv." She snickered as Ino huffed and blew the bubbles off her face. Naruto reached over and offered her a nearby wash cloth which she took with a smile and proceeded to dry herself off. She really did love these two she just couldn't help ribbing them a little here and there.

"Poor Naruto…" she cooed softly while running a hand through his wild blond hair. "How do you put up with such an abusive woman?" she got exactly the reaction she expected as he chuckled nervously but tightened his grip on Sakura affectionately.

"Ahh Sakura-chan just knows how to keep me in line Ino that's all." He smiled that wide grin that caused Ino's heart to speed up a little. It was just too easy to see why Sakura was now in his arms.

"You're such a sweetie Naruto." She sighed before standing up and kissing him on the forehead which caused his face to go beet red.

"Sakura, the bridesmaids and I are going out to The Rose thorn tonight so we'll be there if you need us ok?" she smiled warmly at them.

"Sure sounds great. We might even stop by later." Sakura smiled back at her warmly. It was hard to be mad at the person who cared for you from a young age and who acted like a big sister should.

"Ok!" Ino smiled back broadly, then got a sly expression on her face as she leaned over the tub with her tongue sticking out of her mouth before leaning back and sighing romantically.

"Oh Naruto you really are all grown up!" she squealed happily before dancing nimbly out of the way of a thrown soap bar that dented the wall. Ino laughed all the way outside as Sakura's swearing followed her down the hallway and out the door. The look on their faces was priceless and would serve to keep a smile on her face for weeks to come.

-ooOoo-

It was debatable in some circles whether Ino Yamanaka knew about the effect she had on the male populace. The combination of her traffic stopping good looks, and unassailable confidence turned heads and caused as many mishaps to occur as a black cat crossing their path. As her long silky platinum blond hair swayed from side to side in its customary ponytail, someone caused a cup of hot tea he was pouring to overflow into the customers lap. As her luscious red lips pursed in concentration of the to-do list for the wedding, a man carrying a crate of eggs tripped and face planted into them. As her athletic shapely hips swayed from side to side, another man walked into a light pole with a resounding clang. As she paused while eyeing some earrings that would match the bridesmaids dresses, she adopted a thinking pose which caused her shapely derriere to stick out appreciatively, three men had to be taken to the hospital for a combination of injuries from various sources, including whiplash, A light pole, and an irate girlfriend with a large mallet.

Her purposeful stride exuded a combination of confidence and sex appeal and which made her the center of attention anywhere she went. Thus she set about her remaining errands seemingly oblivious to it but instinctively feeding off the attention a little.

Ino just smiled to herself. The honest truth was she did know, and she used it to great effect in her Shinobi career. It was helpful to have people underestimate her solely based on her gorgeous model good looks. This in and of it self was a lethal mistake to those that knew her well. She may not have Sakura's raw power but no one would argue that she wasn't a capable fighter, her Taijutsu –contrary to popular belief—was superb both in form and execution. Her outstanding chakra control made her a natural with both Ninjutsu and Genjutsu, and her knowledge of tactics combined with her natural intelligence while nowhere near as good as Shikamaru's made her a dangerous opponent. Many foes underestimated her in that regard; it was an easy and often fatal mistake to make since anyone would look stupid next to the genius that was Shikamaru's to command. That thought brought a smile to her face and she let a small giggle go.

The giggle caught the attention of some trainees playing a game of shuriken toss, unfortunately the attention shifted to her and away from the shuriken they were tossing back and forth to each other as an exercise in trust. Ino was shaken from her thoughts by a yelp of pain as one of them got a shuriken lodged in her foot. Kneeling down with a beatific smile that had melted hearts far and wide, Ino utilized yet another skill she had learned. Her palm glowed with a soft green as she removed the shuriken while simultaneously closing the—relatively minor—wound and numbing the pain. The children looked at her with awe in their eyes as she smiled down at them. To their young eyes she was an angel, a figure of divinely sculpted beauty that caused the boys hearts to beat faster and the girl's eyes to glow with admiration.

"Now be more careful next time ok?" she admonished them with a smirk and received numerous nods and smiles back.

"Thank you Onee-chan!!" the young girl she'd healed chirped up at her with a bit of awe in her voice. "Are you a Ninja?" another ventured cautiously. Ino smiled and nodded before leaving with a wave over her shoulder, as an exited babbling began amongst the children in her wake.

Out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of a small blond girl approaching the young girl she'd healed. The blond smiled and laughed and caused the young redhead to laugh as well. A wave of nostalgia ran through her for a moment as the two girls blurred in her vision a moment and a young blond sat with a young pink haired girl in their place.

* * *

"_Everyone makes fun of your forehead right?" The cute blond asked the crying mop of pink hair in front of her with a bemused expression._

"_wh- who are y-you?" was the stuttered reply in a sobbing voice almost a whisper._

"_I'm Yamanaka, Ino. What about you?" she responded in a voice brimming with confidence._

_Ino was taken back a moment as a pair of intense emerald eyes looked up at her. The courage in them was unmistakable in spite of their being puffy with tears._

"_I'm Sakura, Haruno, Sakura…" she answered. Ino could hear in her voice, the courage and strength that was in there. "She has a lot of potential this one. She just needs some encouragement." Ino thought to herself. Something about this little pink haired girl tugged at her heart strings._

_Reaching forward Ino poked her finger through the messy pink bangs and lifted the silky strands away from the young girl's forehead._

"_Ahh I see..." She hmmd softly for a moment as if examining a very interesting flower. "So this is the big forehead." She spoke matter of factly. A soft sob was Sakura's only response as more tears fell from her eyes, and she held her small hands up to her mouth protectively._

"_So you try to hide it with your hair. It makes you look like a ghost." She spoke while looking at her amusedly. Sakura started to sob again but bravely held Ino's gaze even if just for a moment. That caused Ino to smile._

"_It's Sakura right?" she asked with the warmest smile she had." Come here again tomorrow. I'll give you something nice." she smiled at her over her shoulder as she went home. A beautiful little bud just waiting to blossom. That was the thought running through her mind at that moment._

* * *

"_How true that turned out to be."_ Ino sighed to herself. "A beautiful blossom watered with adversity, and fed on love. That was what her best friend had become, the most beautiful flower in Konoha and maybe even the world. Turning back to the street she watched as the two young girls ran off hand in hand laughing. For a moment Ino watched them before she felt a tear slip down her cheek. At least that monkey was off her shoulders. So much time had been lost in their friendship to a childish crush. Time she regretted more than anything in her life.

Still they had made it through hadn't they? In the end they had made up with each other. Sasuke's defection had left them without a focus for their rivalry. That and their brutal fight during the Chunin exams so long ago had cleared a lot off their shoulders. Now they were the sisters and friends they should have been for so long. Oh sure they might tease each other a bit and sometimes they might even go a little too far with it. But wasn't that what sisters were supposed to do? Drive each other nuts while simultaneously standing at each others backs against anyone that would hurt them.

Sure it was she decided. They would nag each other, bite and snap and snark, and get on each others nerves constantly. But when the chips were down the two of them would have each others backs. They would stand by each others side and face all comers. The thought made a warm and light feeling run through her and made her soft ice blue eyes all but glow with contentment. Yes, she Ino Yamanaka was on top of the world right now. She was in her element helping her two best friends prepare for the happiest day of their life. She was interrupted in her thoughts by a loud clang as a ninja leaping across the roofs lost track of where he was jumping because he saw her adjust her chest a little and crashed face first into a light pole.

Sighing softly she rolled her eyes and went to help the poor klutz before she made her way to the Roses thorn club later that night.

-ooOoo-

Sakura sat fuming in front of the mirror with only the howling of the blow dryer to drown out her muttered cursing. It was all Ino's fault that's what it was. First she gives her that special shampoo to help grow her hair out, and now she has to spend more time then she normally would to take care of it. Now she starts acting like a perv with her fiancé, and getting her all agitated and upset. Slamming down the blow dryer she picked up a brush and started to brush through her long pink hair. Stupid pig making her this upset. She'd show her she would. Just chop it all off and go short again. Yeah and that would do it she smirked nastily.

She was surprised though when a firm but soft hand reached out and took the brush from hers. Naruto moved up behind her and slowly and gently began to pull the brush through her hair simultaneously smoothing out the kinks and easing her agitated nerves. She sat there a moment in her pink bathrobe hypnotized by his presence and the soft smile he had on his face.

"Mad at Ino?" He questioned softly while smiling at her as he brushed through her long pink locks, which she suddenly forgot why she wanted to cut in the first place.

Was she? No; not any more. Maybe for a little bit but she couldn't blame Ino nor could she stay mad at her. Much as they drove each other crazy sometimes, over the years Ino had become her closest friend and confidant. A sister in all but blood and one of the only people besides the man whose ring now sat on her finger she would trust with her life.

"Nah she just drives me crazy sometimes that's all." She huffed before hmmming softly as he nuzzled into her hair and neck. "That feels nice…" she whispered as he wrapped his arms around her from behind and hugged her while chuckling softly. She loved it when he did that since it always soothed her nerves and made her feel happy, warm, and safe.

"Do you want to go to the Rose tonight?" he asked her with that smile that always made her insides feel all warm and fuzzy.

"Yeah; it'll be fun, and you can say hi to Rin. She came." She giggled as his eyes brightened happily at the news.

"Boy; wont Kakashi sensei be surprised when he sees her?" he laughed with an enormous grin. She nodded in agreement before turning into him and wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him long and deep. For a few moments they embraced, their lips singing songs of love with out saying a single word to each other. When they pulled back Naruto had a big goofy grin on his face that was mirrored by her own.

"Baka; go get dressed so we can go then." She chided him though her voice was soft and she was smiling. He hugged her close and she sighed softly while enjoying the arms that made her feel as safe as she did when she was a little girl and her daddy chased away the darkness of her bedroom. Finally he released her and turned away to get some clean clothes from his drawer in their bedroom. She watched him in the mirror as he dressed himself in a pair of black pants and a black turtleneck admiring his lithe physique hungrily before turning to her own preparations for the evening.

A few moments later found her twirling in front of Naruto with her long pink hair in a stylish ponytail and a comfortably fitted red dress. "Like what you see big boy?" she teased him with the in-joke that had grown between them.

Naruto's open mouthed expression of awe was all the answer she needed to the question of whether he liked it or not. His sudden and passionate kiss though turned the tables on her and left her open mouthed with surprise as he offered her his hand which she dazedly took before they left for dinner and then to meet Ino and the ladies at the club tonight.

-ooOoo-

"So this guy…!" Ino blared out laughing "This guy challenges Choji to an all you can eat Barbeque contest to resolve who gets the scrolls." Ino laughed some more and was joined by the other gals at the table. "So he accepts the challenge and an hour later were on our way home with the scrolls and the other guy is in the hospital for overeating." The table burst out laughing again. "Of course poor Choji the instant we get back, he isn't in the Hokage's office for more then two minutes before he has to run to the bathroom. We don't see him for an hour after that." She burst out laughing again at the looks of disgust on the face of the other gals before taking a long swallow of her drink.

Temari snorted disdainfully. "I remember Shikamaru telling me about that one. He said having to explain a two thousand Ryo bill for all you can eat barbeque as a mission expense to the Hokage was too troublesome." Her statement elicited another round of laughter from the gathered women.

"How are things between you and Shikamaru-kun, Temari-san?" Hinata's quiet voice asked over the Thorn's live band.

"Nothings happening between us." She snorted as if the notion were ridiculous "That boys entirely too troublesome." She explained getting a surprised look from Hinata, and Tenten, and a snort of her own from Ino.

"Troublesome huh?" she laughed "Guess that explains why I saw you two spending more time kissing instead of playing chess yesterday." She laughed at Temari's slightly red face. "I didn't know the tonsel thrust was a legal move in Shogi" she finished with a leer that caused Tenten to spit her drink across the table.

Temari merely shrugged before responding "It was the only way to spice the encounter up and besides I won didn't I?" This time it was Ino's turn to spit take.

"How about you Hinata-san?" Rin piped up "Anyone special in your life?" She asked the young heiress casually.

Hinata's cheeks turned red but she smiled softly and shook her head getting a surprised response from the other gals.

"What about your teammate with the dog, Kankuro's friend?" Temari prodded her with a smirk.

"Kiba-kun?" Hinata seemed almost shocked at the notion "H-He he likes me; he even asked me out, but I don't think he likes me like that." She stammered her cheeks getting redder with each word.

"That's not what I heard Hinata." Tenten added in. "I heard from Neji that he asked permission to court you officially."

"Y-y-yes he did." Hinata seemed to be trying to sink into her seat, but Ino smelled blood and pounced.

"Oooh Hinataaa!!" she squealed happily "That's so romantic! I wish someone would do that for me." She sighed wistfully while striking a dramatic pose.

"What about you Ino-san?" Rin prodded the platinum beauty with a devilish smirk.

"Nothin really…" Ino sighed again only this one was a little more defeated. "All the good ones are taken I'm afraid." She sighed again and slumped in her chair causing both Temari and Rin to raise eyebrows at her.

"What do you mean…?" Temari asked.

"Well think about it. She motioned to Temari. "You've got Shikamaru wrapped around your little finger. Even if I were into dogs, Kiba's all over Hinata. Shino's got that bug thing going which really creeps me out. Neji's promised to his clan, Lee's…"she paused a moment and shook her head which got a funny look from Tenten "…No, just no. Sasuke's just not even a possibility. Heck the only one left out of the bunch is Naruto and well as attractive an offer as that is, it isn't worth the hospital stay." She smiled and raised her glass and got a laugh and a salute from the ladies.

"You didn't mention Choji-kun Ino-san." Hinata piped up softly, causing Ino's second spit take for the night which left Rin patting her on the back as she coughed and tried to clear her airways.

"Choji?!" she blurted out in shock "Don't be ridiculous Hinata, he's just my teammate and my friend nothing more." She stated with a snort.

She would've gone off into a rant about how she liked slimmer guys, but brief flashes of Choji working out kept intruding into her mind, and images of the size of his muscles, were causing a blush to cover her cheeks that couldn't be attributed to the alcohol. Did she like Choji? Could she like him? After all he did care for her. Didn't he? Ino was saved from further introspection on the matter of her own—Non-existent—love life as she caught a flash of pink out of the corner of her eye.

"Sakura!! Over here!!" she waved at her roseate haired friend and received a wave in return. As Sakura came over and took a seat at the table next to Ino she was greeted happily by the other ladies.

"Where's the knucklehead?" Ino poked Sakura in the shoulder with a smirk.

"He's over at the bar getting our drinks and checking out the band." She replied evenly with a smile.

"So how are you doing Sakura?" Rin asked from her other side.

"I'm in love Rin. I'm truly, deeply, madly, and passionately in love for the first time in my life." She sighed wistfully and had the other girls sighing with her.

"What about Sasuke-kun?" Hinata piped up from across the table with a curious look and a slight blush on her face. For a moment the air around the table was a little chilly but Sakura's face suddenly lightened with a soft smile before she responded.

"Sasuke was something special, and I admired him a lot. But I never truly understood him. Later on I found out that I was never truly in love with him either."

"You sure acted like you were." Ino teased her slightly. "You told me all about how you fell in love with Sasuke."

"I know…" she paused a moment as the memory passed through her mind. "The truth though, was it only an illusion."

"Huh? What do you mean Sakura?" Tenten asked. The others nodded in agreement and leaned forward to hear the story.

"Well you remember the day we became genin, and were assigned to our teams?" She asked and received nods from all present save Tenten and Temari before continuing. "Well that day I was so happy that I got to be on the same team as Sasuke but at the same time I was horrified that I was on the same team as Naruto." She heard some chuckles and a small gasp from Hinata. "When we met Kakashi-sensei he asked us what he hated and I blurted out that I hated Naruto." She continued with a frown which was matched by the other gals save Rin who kept her face carefully neutral.

"Well you can imagine how disgusted I feel now about what I said then, but you need to know about the misunderstanding Naruto and I had at the time." This got several curious looks from the ladies but before she could continue, the subject of their conversation walked up and placed a drink in Sakura's hand before kissing her softly on the lips which had all the girls blushing slightly and Sakura smiling beatifically.

"Hi ladies!" he chirped happily nodding at all present before coming over and giving Rin an affectionate hug in greeting. "Hey you; were glad you came!" His smile was so broad and warm that all the gals had to laugh with him.

"I was glad to make it." Rin responded happily as he walked back over to Sakura and wrapped his arms around her affectionately "So what were we discussing? He asked with that huge grin he favored.

"You actually." Sakura smirked at his surprise "The day we became a team and you made me fall in love with you though I didn't realize it yet." She smirked again at the embarrassed look on his face before picking up where she left off.

"So you see Naruto used to constantly ask me out. At the time I was flattered by the attention but I had a crush on Sasuke-kun and it was pretty strong. Unfortunately Naruto here didn't seem to understand that and even after I told him no he persisted. I felt like he didn't understand me at all, and worse his clumsy attempts were embarrassing me in front of Sasuke and all my classmates." This got some of the gals shaking their heads and Naruto scratching his head embarrassedly.

"Sooo…Like I was saying, the day we became a team we went off to have lunch. Naruto of course wanted to have lunch with me so we could get to know each other better, and of course I wanted to have lunch with Sasuke-kun for the same reason." She paused a moment to take a sip of her drink before continuing.

"So when Naruto asked me I said no and called him annoying." She frowned again and the shame in her voice was hard to miss but Naruto's affectionate squeeze of her shoulders enabled her to soldier on with her tale. "Well later on at lunch I was sitting on the bench and day dreaming about Sasuke-kun coming to me and saying "_You have such a large charming forehead, it makes me want to kiss it."_

Of course I was just daydreaming but then suddenly there he was. Sasuke-kun standing there in front of me and saying exactly what I dreamed he'd say to me. Well of course I go head over heels gaga for him. But then he says "_Haha that sounds like something Naruto would say."_

Ino was as shocked as anyone at the table but then she noticed Naruto looking very embarrassed and somewhat sad at the implications of what Sakura was saying. But what really shocked her was the realization of what came next.

"It wasn't Sasuke-kun was it?" she blurted out in shock "It was Naruto saying that to you." She fired off this time certain of her reasoning.

She remembered sitting with Shikamaru and Choji at lunch that day and saw Naruto jump Sasuke. She didn't think anything of it at the time since she saw Sasuke leave through the window a few moments later, but now suddenly everything came full circle and she was blown away by the implications. It meant that Naruto Uzumaki the dead last loser of the class, had beaten the rookie of the year in a straight fight somehow incapacitating Sasuke long enough to complete a nearly flawless Henge, and fool not only Sakura but herself as well. The same Naruto, who earlier in the week couldn't perform a simple Henge to save his life.

"Nope it was this doofus." She poked Naruto's forehead playfully with a smile while he whined and pretended to be hurt.

"Wait." Temari interrupted "Let me get this straight. You had a crush on the Uchiha and thought this doofus was annoying. Then he comes to you and in a Henge, and tells you your hearts desire, and you fall in love with the wrong guy?" she shook her head bewilderedly

"That's the gist of it." Sakura confirmed with a nod as she ran her fingers through Naruto's disheveled blond hair while his head was resting comfortably on her shoulder.

"When did you find out the truth?" Hinata piped up quietly drawing the attention of all present.

"Do you remember the Root/Sound invasion?" she offered and received nods from all except Rin who wasn't there at the time. It had been a close call for all of them and Temari and Hinata had come close to dying in the fighting that followed. "Well, in the aftermath I cornered Sasuke-kun and demanded to speak to him. That's when I confronted him about that day and he told me the truth. That it hadn't been him, that it had been Naruto all along…" She paused and kissed Naruto on the cheek before nuzzling into his head a little.

"…The true love of my life…" she was interrupted as Naruto kissed her long and soft on the lips before hugging her close eliciting a round of awes from the ladies present except Temari who managed a smirk and a bemused chuckle. Naruto nuzzled into her for a second more then whispered something into her ear. Sakura smiled and nodded and he turned and walked over to where the band was changing songs waving at the ladies to excuse him.

"Well that has got to be the craziest thing I've ever heard, but at least you sorted it out at last." Temari managed while sipping her own drink as he went out of earshot.

"How about you Temari, sorted out your little thing with Shikamaru yet?" Sakura teased her a little.

"As if; that boy moves like a snail." Temari snorted a very unladylike sound, and Ino laughed "Isn't that the truth." She raised her glass to Temari who raised hers in return.

-ooOoo-

The conversation soon turned to the wedding and other items of interest including some of the attributes of the guys in question; things such as Shikamaru's intelligence, Choji's strength, Kiba's loyalty how cool one was, or how noble they were. It was Sakura though that stunned the group into silence.

"Naruto can play the piano." She added in when asked about her ramen loving fiancé. Her response earned a snort of laughter from Ino, Temari and some good natured chuckling from Tenten. Hinata though was strangely silent.

"Please forehead, come on you're pulling our legs, and mine are long enough as is." Ino laughed out loud.

"Shikamaru told me he could fly which I'll grant, but I find it hard to believe that knucklehead knows what a piano looks like, much less how to play it." Temari added in sarcastically.

"How about a bet?" Sakura added in with a smirk.

"You're on forehead! Five hundred ryo!" she crowed and laid her money down on the table. Tenten counted her own cash and shrugged before laying hers down as well. Temari soon followed. "How about you Hinata you in?" she prodded.

"Yes. I believe in Naruto-kun." She spoke softly laying her money down on Sakura's

"I'll take some of that action!" spoke a loud voice over the music as the Godaime Hokage joined them and laid down a wad of ryo on Sakura's pile.

"Shishou!" Sakura piped up "What are you doing here?"

Tsunade pointed to the gaggle of women following her including Shizune, Kurenai, Anko, and Uzuki Yuugao as well who waved at them. "Just finished a meeting and we all went for drinks." She answered casually.

"So; what's the bet ladies?" Anko piped up curiously.

"Forehead here thinks Naruto can play the piano." Ino laughed out loud at the absurd notion "Five hundred ryo if you're in."

"Naruto and Piano, two words that just don't mix, I'm game." Anko threw her money on the pile. Shizune soon laid hers down as well, followed by Kurenai, and Uzuki.

"All right ladies!" Ino announced like a carnie barker. "Who's in the Naruto can't play a piano category?" most of them raised their hands. "And…" She snickered "in the he can play category?" Sakura, Hinata, Tsuande, and surprisingly Uzuki raised their hands.

"Hmmm" Ino hummed as she counted the cash on the table "Gonna be a good split for us winners here." She narrowed her eyes at Sakura who was glaring back at her implication. "How about we sweeten the deal Sakura?" she spoke with a sly grin.

"What do you have in mind?" She responded with a raised eye brow.

""You win I'll take four of your next weekend hospital shifts." She offered causing Sakura's eyes to widen before narrowing at the smirk on Ino's face.

"And when I win?" Sakura asked confidently "When I win." Ino corrected "I get to take Naruto on a real date." She chirped happily smiling all the while.

"Ano Ino-san…" Hinata tried to get her attention but Sakura piped up with a wicked grin "You're so on piggy. Hope you enjoy not having the next four weekends to party with."

"Well see who parties when Naruto and I go on our date!" She snarked back, the two getting in each others faces as lightning crackled between them.

"Ooooh Naruto!" Sakura called out sweetly when they had separated. He waved over to her and then came to join them kissing her softly as he did.

"Baachan? Ladies! Hi!" he chirped happily and received nods and waves and a perverted leer from Anko in return.

"Naruto…" Sakura's voice was all sweetness and honey. "Can you play the piano for us please?" she pleaded and added in the kicker which she knew would get him to do it. "It would make me very happy."

"Sure thing Sakura-chan! Any requests?" he chirped with a big goofy grin on his face.

"Play something romantic Naruto!" Ino added in with her eyes sparkling and a dreamy half lidded expression on her lovely face.

"Sure thing Ino-chan!" he kissed Sakura on the forehead, and then saluted them all. He walked over to the band where he spoke to them for a moment while gesturing towards the ladies. After a moment the Band leader smiled, nodded and offered him the piano. Naruto took the seat vacated by the piano player and cracked his knuckles before shaking his hands to loosen them up.

Ino was feeling pretty smugly about herself right up until the first notes from the piano floated out over the now quiet bar. You could have heard a pin drop as the melodic and highly romantic tune swept out over the crowd. Several couples took a turn on the dance floor swaying softly to the music. Looking around the table to see if the ladies were hearing what she was hearing Ino was stunned again at the expressions on the faces of those present.

Sakura was looking at Naruto with a soft dreamy expression on her face. Hinata had a small blush and a far away expression as if she were remembering something long ago. Tenten and Temari were both stunned and their jaws were hanging open. Anko was also stunned and she let a slow appreciative whistle go. Tsunade also had a soft wistful expression on her face as she chuckled softly. Kurenai, Shizune, and Rin all maintained neutral expressions though their eyes were smiling brightly. Uzuki had a smirk on her face as if this were an everyday occurrence for her.

For Ino she had to take a moment to process what was happening and reconcile what her senses were telling her brain. Naruto Uzumaki was on stage playing the piano with the skill of a master and the soul of an angel. His playing was remarkable, it held a depth of passion and sincerity that made her heart feel lighter than air, and gave her wings to fly on. She looked to Sakura again as if to clarify for herself and it was in that moment that she felt something warm and wet on her cheeks. Reaching up she brushed her fingers across her cheeks only for them to come away wet.

Tears; she was crying at the beautiful music that was being played by Konoha's number one most surprising Ninja, as the song caressed her and held her hand walking her along soft moonlit paths and carrying her heart up into the sky to dance among the stars which the piano player had hung just for her.

It was remarkable. It was amazing. It was too much, and she needed a breath of fresh air. Standing up as the song ended she excused herself and walked out onto the clubs second floor balcony. Once there she looked out at the stars and was greeted by a shooting star that fell from the sky, just as a tear fell from her eye.

_-ooOoo-_

"_What was I doing?"_ she snapped mentally to herself. _"What was I thinking asking for a date with Naruto like that? He's my friend, and Sakura she's like my sister. And I go and pull the same routine I pulled when we were going at it over Sasuke-Kun. Gods I need to get a life." _She sighed sadly as she leaned her arms on the balconies railing.

She snapped her eyes to the left as someone joined her on the deck. Sakura leaned on the railing as well watching the stars for a moment before handing her a handkerchief with a soft smile.

"So…" she paused a moment "Want to talk about it?"

"Nah." She shook her head while wiping her face clean with the hanky. "Just feeling stupid is all. I can't believe I reverted to type on you like that. Honestly demanding a date with your fiancé as a reward for a bet." She looked at Sakura to see the rosette looking at her with a small smile.

"Just like old times huh?" she chuckled softly and Ino couldn't help but join her.

"Yeah…Thank god those are over." She added with a sob and a roll of her soft teal eyes.

"Do you know that I have two true friends Ino?" she asked suddenly surprising Ino. "Two people who've been friends ever since I first met them, and stayed true even when we were at our worst." Sakura's voice was soft but warm and she had some tears in her own eyes.

"We've been through pain and promise together, laughter and regret, hard times and fun times. We've argued and fought over the stupidest things."

"Sometimes I swear you two can drive me crazy by how stubborn you both can be." Ino raised her eyes at that but before she could protest Sakura continued sighing in exasperation. "It's like we just have to fight over every little thing. I sometimes wonder if I'll ever get either of you to admit that I'm not that little girl you took under your wing anymore, that I don't need to be protected 24/7 anymore."

"More then once I've wanted to kill both of you rather than admit you might be the one who was right when we argued. Even when I knew you were right." She glared at Ino who glared back stubbornly.

"But in the end." She paused a moment to let her next words sink in, and her emerald eyes were bright as she spoke. "Time and again when the chips were down. There were two people who always stood by my side. Who always took my hand and pulled me out of the darkness. Regardless of whether that darkness was someone else's doing or my own. Who showed me that I could just be myself and, that I didn't have to change myself to meet everyone else's expectations. That I didn't have to apologize for anything!" she punctuated the last word with a slicing gesture of her hand.

"Those two people who did that for me; they are the man I'm going to marry...," Sakura paused a moment "And the woman who is going to stand by my side as my maid of honor." Ino sobbed softly as Sakura wrapped her arms around her and hugged her tight.

"Thank you so much for everything Ino-pig." She chuckled softly while hugging her close.

"Any time ugly forehead girl…" Ino chuckled softly as she hugged her back. "I'll stand by your side always, and I wouldn't want anyone else watching my back." when she pulled away both of them were smiling warmly.

"Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to get my fiancé to make a shadow clone so he can play the piano while I dance with him." Sakura smirked while walking away "Don't stay out to long Ino."

"Tell Naruto to save a dance for me!" Ino called back to her with her own smirk. Sakura merely winked in her direction before reentering the bar.

Looking up Ino watched as another shooting star flashed by overhead, its tail lighting up the sky before it vanished to wherever shooting stars went when they finished riding the fire of the atmosphere. Sighing softly Ino straightened up her dress and used the hanky to clean her face.

"You're welcome imouto-chan." Ino whispered softly but with a warm smile before turning and rejoining her friends.

Tomorrow was another day and she had a wedding to plan for her two most precious people.

**To be continued**


	4. Chapter 3 Way to a mans heart

**In your heart**

A NaruSaku story

Chapter 3: Way to a mans heart

* * *

_When you meet someone who can cook, and do house work_

—_Don't hesitate a minute—Marry them._

_~~Tsunade to Sakura_

_Cuz she's just the way she is, but no ones told her that's ok._

And she would change everything, everything just ask her.  
Caught in the in between of beautiful disaster,

And she would change everything for happy ever after.  
Caught in the in between of beautiful disaster,

But she just needs someone to take her home  
And she just needs someone to take her home

_~~Jon Mclaughlin_

* * *

The night proceeded apace for the ladies of Konoha filled with laughter and drinks and music. Sakura true to her word had Naruto make a clone which replaced him at the piano and promptly proceeded to lay down another romantic ballad while the original danced slowly with his beloved bride to be.

The song; a mid-tempo ballad about a man loving his wife as if it were the last day of their lives together, touched a chord in them all and had more than one of the ladies in tears. Thoughts of lost and current loved ones went through their minds and resolutions were made to follow the songs advice whole heartedly.

This was just as Naruto intended it. While he couldn't read their minds he could see the resolve in their eyes and that was enough for him. Sakura could also see the wheels turning behind her beloved fox's eyes, and she shook her head before hardening her own resolve with a passionate kiss that had Naruto smiling goofily at her and got some catcalls and an appreciative whistle or two from the peanut gallery.

-ooOoo-

As the night wore on Naruto showed he had more then enough of himself to spread around as he engaged in slow dances with all the ladies present sometimes three or four at a time—ahh the wonders of the Kagebunshin—while filling the club with music both sweet and fun.

Currently he—the original—was dancing with Tsunade, the tall Godaime Hokage's head barely up to his chin as they laughed and joked with each other about one thing or another.

Just like family.

Ino took the opportunity to assuage her curiosity as to who knew what which had cost her five hundred ryo and, her next four weekends off. So she set out to find out who knew what about the gift of Konoha's number one most surprising ninja.

"Hinata!" Ino piped up catching the Hyuuga heiress's attention.

"Yes Ino-san?" she responded curiously in her own quiet manner.

"So how long have you known that Naruto could play the piano so well?" she questioned with only the mildest hint of teasing in her voice.

Hinata's cheeks flushed a soft red for a moment and she seemed to stare off into space for a moment making Ino wonder if she would answer at all before Hinata finally responded.

"I've known for a while now. Though I never heard Naruto-Kun play, like this." She gestured around to indicate the club and the crowd who were now dancing to a rowdy piano rumble about Saturday nights and fighting.

"But how...?" Ino tried to answer before Hinata continued seemingly not hearing her. TenTen and Temari talking nearby with Uzuki Yuugao, and Rin also listened in curiosity written in their faces.

"When I was younger I was still very shy. My mother wanted me to get out and socialize more so she and my father took me and Hanabi-neechan to a piano recital by Nobu Koda-sama." Hinata explained drawing surprised gasps from the other gals present. Even Temari had heard of the famous Koda, Nobu a traveling musician of unparalleled skill and former Konoha shinobi who had tragically lost her husband and all three of her sons to the war with the rock. Hinata nodded as she saw the recognition of who must have taught Naruto to play sink in before continuing.

"She was supposed to show off her newest prized pupil. The first pupil she'd taken in, in nearly fifteen years by most accounts." Hinata's eyes trailed off and a tear slipped down her cheek at the memory as she recalled that night.

* * *

_Little Hinata Hyuuga dressed in her finest Kimono clutched tightly to her mothers legs as she peered shyly out at the growing crowd. Her mother smiled down at her serenely a gesture that always made her feel warm and safe. They had waited to be seated but before they could they were approached by a shinobi who spoke quietly to her father, whose stoic face went from indifferent to ashen in moments. Her mother too looked concerned and quickly handed tiny Hanabi off to their nanny before hurrying backstage with her father. Hanabi getting upset at her mother's absence began to cry but quickly settled when Hinata took her little hand and patted her on the head causing her to coo happily._

_Seeing that Hanabi was fine Hinata quickly slipped away and ran to find her mother and father who in her small mind had been gone to long. She could see and hear many whispers from the adults and though she didn't understand the words knew they weren't happy. Soon she found her father speaking in hushed tones to the old man with the funny hat she had seen come to their home sometimes. Quiet as a mouse she came up to her mothers side and listened to them speak._

"_What about the boy?" Hiashi asked Hirunzen Sarutobi quietly._

"_I'm afraid there's nothing we can do now." The Sandaime Hokage sighed sadly "With Nobu's death the master apprentice relationship is forfeit and without that he must attend the academy as an orphan once again." _

_Hinata could see the sadness and regret in the old man's eyes and wondered about the boy they were talking about. Slipping from her mother's side she quietly looked to where the old man had been looking and made her way to the dressing room. From within she could hear soft melancholy notes being played. The sadness and despair in those notes touched a chord in her and she longed to hug whoever was making that music and make them play happy music. Peeking into the room she saw a boy barely older then she was sitting quietly at the piano. He had spiky blond hair and was wearing a black kimono with orange trim and a swirl design on the back. Hinata watched fascinated as his small fingers played over the keys before he sniffed once and she saw a single teardrop fall and hit the keys. As it did she saw him stand up and begin frantically wiping his eyes with the sleeve of his kimono, then he took a deep breath and ran out the back door before she could gather up the courage to say something._

_She turned as her mothers voice reached her and saw the concern in her eyes. "Kaasan there was a sad boy there." She pointed her tiny finger at the now vacant piano. Her mother embraced her softly and Hinata didn't see her look at the Sandaime who spoke to a cat masked Anbu with long purple hair who bowed before vanishing in a puff of smoke._

_The next time she would see the young man in question would be in the academy the next spring and though she tried she could never gather the courage to speak to him until much later in her life._

* * *

"I almost didn't recognize him when I saw him next time in class." She said sadly pausing a moment to sniffle. She saw Ino was crying sadly and smiled beatifically at her before hugging her gently if a little awkwardly, and comforting her. While the two were never the type of friends Ino and Sakura had become they had gained an understanding and respect for each other that had led to friendship and was helped by their working together for the wedding. Hinata could appreciate determination in others, and as she saw Ino work on the details of the wedding with all her heart she had begun to feel a kinship with and admiration for the platinum blond she felt with few others.

"T-that's s-so s-sad!" Ino bawled having never heard the story before. She felt worse because now she recalled that she too had been at the recital with her parents and had been annoyed because she wanted to go to a movie instead. She never knew until now who the student had been and the guilt at her own selfishness struck her hard.

It was only now that she knew what had happened to Naruto. Now that she watched as he played the piano for them all with a smile on his face that she realized just the type of chance he had lost when his piano instructor had died that night. He had taken the tragedy and built himself into the most powerful shinobi in the elemental nations and more importantly, one of her best friends.

And so she felt miserable because in the end she felt like she barely knew him at all. She wasn't allowed to stay sad long though as two pairs of arms wrapped around her comfortably. One belonging too the young man in question, and the other belonging to her roseate haired sister/best friend. She sobbed for a moment longer before quickly regaining her composure hugging a shocked Naruto fiercely.

"You're so wonderful Naruto, and I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you like I should have been!" she cried while sniffling into his shoulder. Naruto looked confused while patting her back reassuredly. He looked helplessly at Sakura and Hinata who merely shrugged in understanding.

"It's ok Ino-chan, you're here here now right?" he smiled that warm genuine smile of his that melted hearts far and wide, and it caused Ino's heart to nearly burst with happiness.

"Yeah." She sniffled one more time before smiling brightly herself "I'm here now. Thanks Naruto for everything." She kissed him on the cheek and smiled beatifically at him eliciting a red flush of his cheeks as he scratched the back of his head embarrassedly while looking at Sakura who merely raised an eyebrow at him.

"Great!" he chirped happily "Now no more tears Ino-chan. Have some fun!" he declared loudly with that wide fox grin he favored plastered on his face.

"Ok! You got it!" she chirped back, and suddenly her own grin became as sly as his. Some things you saved for when you were a little drunk and had the sympathy vote to draw on. She reached down and slapped Naruto's—very nice and firm—rear end, which caused him to yelp in surprise and turned beet red before looking at a red faced and fuming Sakura and protesting his innocence wildly. All the while Ino was laughing uproariously the sudden release of tension just what she needed to move on from her sadness.

-ooOoo-

Further Investigation of others revealed more information. Sakura—after she cooled down--and Rin were givens. Both had been at the resort and so obviously knew. Uzuki, Yuugao explained that she had known from the beginning since she had been in charge of Naruto's guard detail when he was younger, and she had convinced him to play for her several times. The purple haired Anbu revealed to a shocked Ino that she loved the blond Kyuubi container like a little brother and had tried to adopt him on more then one occasion as a baby only to have had her attempts rejected due to Danzo's interference. Quietly Ino cursed the Old war hawk's name and the council he'd manipulated, and was frankly glad to be rid of him.

It was Lady Tsunade though who would provide the surprise of the evening. The Godaime Hokage would admit that she didn't know Naruto could play at all. When a stunned Ino asked why she had bet on him then her reply was simply "Never bet against Naruto."

-ooOoo-

Thus did the night continue with drinks and dancing, and the band joining Naruto's amazing piano playing. As was their way with each other a joke about who could drink more quickly devolved into a drinking contest between Sakura and Ino. The end result was a red faced Sakura and Ino being carried home on a pair of strong backs while they jawed and jabbed at each other.

"Heh! I win your being carried home Ino-pig." Sakura slurred her words and stuck her tongue out childishly at her maid of honor.

"So are you Forehead." Ino pointed out in return.

"Oh.-hic- so I am." Sakura giggled cutely before burying her nose in Naruto's neck. Then she looked up with a sly grin on her face "Well mines cuter." She giggled again while reaching down and smacking Naruto's rear end resoundingly causing yet another yelp.

"Sakura-channn!" Naruto whined in protest but Sakura stuck her tongue out at him before nuzzling into his neck again.

Not wanting to be outdone Ino squinted trying to clear her blurry vision, and with her tongue sticking out in concentration reached down and got a similar yelp as she vigorously groped the person carrying her and another yelp as she gave his rear end a meaty smack.

"My ass is bigger." She slurred confidently with a smug smile on her face.

"Yep I'll say." Sakura retorted with a similarly smug smile.

"So are my boobs!" Ino stuck her tongue out receiving no comment from Sakura except her sticking her own tongue out.

Both thoroughly sloshed this went on for another 3 blocks before Naruto finally reached the apartment he and Sakura were sharing. "G'night Ino-chan, say goodnight Sakura-chan ." Naruto smiled at them.

"G'night Sakura-chan." Sakura slurred parrot like from his back causing him to roll his eyes. He looked at who was carrying Ino "You got her ok?"

He received a nod and a smile in return and nodded back before going inside and getting Sakura ready for bed.

"Night Naruto–kun, night forehead!" Ino chirped merrily before laying her head drunkenly on her rides rather broad shoulder as he turned and proceeded the extra block to her apartment.

"Don't know why Sakura gets you all to her self." She grumbled the alcohol making her more aggressive then usual, and consequently more talkative then usual as well. "You think I'm cute right?' she whined with a pout.

"Beautiful." Her ride replied with a blush to his tanned cheeks as Ino plowed on.

"And, and I've got a great personality too right? I'm fun and smart, and …" she hesitated a moment "and smart and fun… wait I said that already." Her brain wasn't firing on all synapses yet.

"You're a great person." Came the reply as her door came into view. "One of the most amazing people I've ever known."

"SEE!!" she shouted causing him to wince at her volume. "Sorry…" she whispered in apology while making a shushing noise at him "people are trying to sleep ya know." She tsked him before plopping her head back down on his shoulder.

His broad strong shoulders.

Feeling bolder then normal Ino began to nuzzle and kiss up his neck and behind his ear receiving a startled protestation and a bright red blush on his marked cheeks.

"I-I-Ino wh-what are you d-doing?" he shuddered involuntarily as she sucked on his ear.

"Pssht! Shaddup! I'm not doing nothing." She snarked while sticking her tongue out at him childishly. She crossed her teal blue eyes as she tried to see his face more clearly but the street lights and the alcohol were making it difficult to see, and she was seeing three of him in any case.

Soon she found her self set on unsteady feet as he worked to unlock her door then tried to lead her in gently, only to have her push his hand away.

"Hmmph I can manage just fine on my own thank you very much." She slurred, then proceeded to take two unsteady steps forward before "No I can't." rang out and she pitched forward to face plant on the ground.

Or she would have if her rescuer hadn't caught her and scooped her up in his powerful arms. "Lets get you ready for bed." He sighed softly in that deep gentle voice she liked to hear.

"Why I thought you'd never ask!" she squealed happily before latching her arms around him and crashing her ruby red lips onto his with bruising force in a collision that left him a little dazed as he realized with a shock that he had made it to her bedroom.

"Ahh Ino w-w-what are you doing?" he squeaked in a panicked voice she didn't remember him ever using as she clumsily stripped off her clothes revealing the full of her womanhood. Ino twirled in place with a giggle before striking a sultry pose which emphasized her in all her glory and caused his eyes to bulge out of his head and his face to turn six different shades of bright red. She didn't reply except to adopt an incredibly sexy half lidded expression on her face as she reached up and liberated her long platinum blond hair from its usual confinement. A strangled noise greeted this move as she flared her hands through the silky fall of blond hair which cascaded down her back like a waterfall to her delicious creamy thighs.

"You're not shy now are you." She cooed coquettishly while advancing on him with a seductive gait that was rapidly setting his own passions ablaze.

He wanted desperately to reach for her, to crush her amazing body against his own, to drink deeply from that ruby red fountain which promised endless pleasures. He wanted it –NO—he'd wanted her for so long now. He'd just never told her, never told anyone save Shikamaru who had only smiled and shook his head.

But not this way, not when she didn't even know who he really was, or even how he felt. Not now when the decision was the alcohols and not her own.

He was taken by surprise when her lips crashed into his once more burning him like a brand before he stumbled backwards and crashed down onto her bed in a heap with her on top of him. She used his momentary surprise to insert her tongue into his mouth and explore around a little before she released him.

"HAH!!" she crowed triumphantly "I'll show Sakura I wont lose to her in love Asuma-Sensei!!" she announced triumphantly and he winced at the mention of Asuma's name and his final words to her upon his death before he felt her collapse on top of him.

"Mmm Ino?" he spoke softly hoping not to get her riled again. "Ino I think I…"he looked at her trying to get her attention but to no avail and he sighed softly as he realized she had passed out. He spent a moment trying to extricate himself from under the nubile and quite naked young goddess he was trapped under but sighed in defeat as every time he moved a little she would wrap her arms tighter around his neck and snuggle deeper into his chest. He debated trying to extricate himself one last time but decided not to wake her and just laid his head down upon one of her pillows while simultaneously pulling a blanket over her against the chill of the evening.

"Night Ino-chan." He whispered softly before kissing her gently on her forehead her skin as soft as silk and cream despite her career as a shinobi.

He was about to try and just drift off himself when he heard her whisper something that set his world on fire and caused his heart to nearly leap out of his chest while beating like a drum.

"Choji…" she whispered softly before once again burying her face into the crook of his neck. Choji smiled warmly and adjusted his grip so she'd be more comfortable all while stroking his hand through her hair softly. Then he reached over and turned off the light.

-ooOoo-

Ino woke up the next morning with her head ringing and her eyes blurry. Quietly she cursed her competitive streak with Sakura and could only hope that the rosette was having as fun a hangover as she was. Sliding out of bed she adjusted the overlarge shirt she was wearing and didn't remember putting on—nor owning for that matter—and made her way to the bathroom. Taking a moment she tried to recall the night after the drinking got going in earnest but was only able to pull up brief flashes.

Naruto playing piano, Sakura and her drinking, Sakura putting a rather rude drunk through a wall before the Hokage could, someone holding her hair back as she worshiped the porcelain goddess, a very sexy kiss and striptease…"Oh no!" she squeaked in a panic "Ohnoohnoohno. Oh gods Sakura's going to kill me, I got It on with Naruto while I was drunk." She whined.

Quickly she leaned down and splashed some water in her face trying to clear her throbbing head. Was it her imagination or could she smell blueberry pancakes—her favorite Yummy!!—and hear humming coming from her kitchen. She shuddered at the possibility and her fears grew as she realized that she was wearing the t-shirt of whoever was down in her Kitchen making breakfast. If it was who she thought it was Sakura was going to do worse then kill her. Her best friend could do all sorts of nasty things thanks to her immense strength and knowledge of human anatomy.

Making her way down the hallway she peeked hesitantly into the kitchen and got the shock of a lifetime as the broad shoulders and back and long reddish brown hair of her teammate came into view as he expertly flipped a pancake into the air before catching it on the skillet and then sliding it off with a short satisfied laugh. For a moment Ino forgot her earlier panic as she watched her large teammate hustle too and fro in her kitchen first setting a couple of plates on the table then filling a decanter with orange juice and even better the sweet heavenly smell of coffee in a pitcher which he set on a warming plate. A stack of pancakes was divided onto two plates—his was larger then hers she noted—causing her to roll her eyes before smiling at the picture. She watched him for a moment more before coughing slightly to get his attention.

"Ino!?" his eyes widened in surprise clearly not expecting her to be awake so soon "Good morning!" he chirped happily before noticing her wince. "Sorry…" he whispered apologetically before coming over and guiding her t-shirt clad form into a chair. She smiled as he adjusted her chair like a gentleman and then with that big bright smile he favored poured her a warm cup of coffee and added a little cream and a single sugar like she preferred it. Then he quickly placed a plate in front of her and her mouth quickly watered at the smell of blueberries as he poured some warm syrup into a bowl so she could dip her pancakes something else she loved to do that few people remembered. Putting her thoughts on hold for a moment she dug into her plate hungrily attacking the stack of pancakes with a vigor she didn't realize she had, and soon she was lazing back into her chair like her a house cat feeling content and lazy.

"Mmmm." She hummed contently "Choji that was amazing!" she smiled as he blushed while he cleaned the dishes and she watched the smooth play of muscles on his arms and back. And then suddenly the nights events hit her again, and her face turned beat red and she tried to sink down further into her seat.

"Ino…?' he asked confusedly as she tried to cover herself up then peeking out between her fingers she realized something weird. He was wearing a t-shirt also. Confused she looked down at the large black one that was clearly his she was wearing, and then tried desperately to reconcile what had happened.

Seeming to realize what was going through her mind he smiled—causing her heart to skip a beat—before responding. "It's one of mine you were repairing one of the sleeves for me remember? "he explained with a laugh at her blank expression "You were a little drunk last night and when you mmmm…" he sought for a delicate way to explain.

"Threw up my dinner…" she added in sarcastically as he winced a little at the description. "Yeah that, well you needed a shirt and I gave you that one to wear." His smile was a little too big and he was sweating a little under her scrutiny.

"We didn't…" she began but he quickly cut her off. "No! Nonono… Well you kinda…" he struggled for the words then sighed before continuing "You fell asleep on top of me and kinda stayed there." He shrugged while the blush of his cheeks seemed to indicate more had gone on. Ino took a long look into his eyes and something in them caused her to shake her head as she realized who she was with and just how he'd treat her in such a situation. Still she was curious as the sensation of her lips burning was a little stronger then the coffee he had made.

"So that kiss was something else huh?" she smirked "Yeah it sure was." He replied happily before suddenly choking and turning beet red at his slipup. "I-I-Ino its not what you think it was , but I, we didn't…" he began to babble excuses as she raised a trim eyebrow at him all the while trying her best to keep from breaking into a fit of giggles. As it was the corners of her mouth were twitching as Choji rambled on and she shook her head before taking in the indignant look on his face as he realized she was laughing silently at him, which only caused her to burst out laughing as he slumped in defeat before smirking and then joining in his deep healthy laugh joining her snorting laugh which was part of where her—unfortunate thanks Sakura—nickname came from.

"I'm sorry Choji." She apologized while giggling "I just couldn't resist, the look on your face was priceless." She smiled at him and it caused him to blush as he turned back to the dishes to finish them up.

It was at this moment that she felt a small but important shift in her heart. Because one thing her mother said to her long ago stuck with her. A man who looks good is a dime a dozen. A man who can take care of you with his own hands is a rare gem that should be held onto as fiercely as any diamond.

In many ways she had tried to be the opposite of her mother's advice. Trying desperately to give the appearance of being perfect, always wearing the best clothes, and making sure her appearance was the best. She kept herself in top form as a ninja sure but until Sasuke left and she had the near horror of losing Choji to the mission to retrieve him she hadn't really taken it seriously.

But deep down she always wanted someone who would need her as much as she needed him. A person who would give her all of his heart with no conditions or strings attached. Caught in between that notion of the perfect guy who should care and the guy who wasn't perfect but would care for a long time had left her isolated more socially then she would care to admit.

And it had affected her relationship with her teammates more then she would ever admit. It had affected her notions about them and her perspectives on them, and it had come to a head when she had demanded Shikamaru explain what in the world he had been thinking when he hadn't come to get her for the mission.

Shikamaru had looked at her as if she were crazy, and then walked away without an explanation all while she had railed and cursed at him. It wasn't until much later after she had made Chunin that she finally understood and had spoken at length with both of them about the mission. At the end she had thanked Shikamaru for protecting her from herself, and Choji for being safe with a big hug and a kiss on the cheek for them both.

She knew then that she had to change herself. She couldn't hold onto ridiculous notions of happily ever after anymore. Sakura had disabused her of that notion when much to her surprise the rosette had spoken to her briefly about Naruto not mentioning Sasuke once but gushing in glowing terms about her blond teammate leaving Ino stunned.

Cold dose of reality firmly in hand Ino had marched to the Hokage to request to be trained nd to get further information about the failed mission. For Ino though it wasn't about the who anymore, but the why and how. Her keen tactical mind wanted to know what had gone wrong and she had told Tsunade that she wanted to be trained so she could make sure that her teammates never went into battle so woefully unprepared again. Tsunade had looked at her like a bug under a microscope making her feel six inches high before quietly nodding and telling her to report to the library the next day to begin the book work needed to begin training.

It had been hard bitter work, but in the end the first time she had pulled a Kunai out of Choji's back on a mission and healed the wound his heartfelt thanks and Shikamaru's calm "well done" had been worth every bit of blood sweat and tears.

Now she had another choice to make it seemed and wasn't sure how to proceed. She admitted to herself that she'd do anything to make him happy as it seemed that Choji would do the same for her. But what if things went wrong would it turn out to be an unmitigated disaster? Was she just feeling the after affects of a harmless crush that would fade in time? Or was this the beginning of something more? Something that may she realized with a start may have been there for a while now.

And then she realized that maybe she didn't need to make such a huge deal about it after all. This was Choji light hearted and easy going. Except when it came to food and his friends in which case he rolled forwards like his human boulder form. Maybe just maybe things could be a lot less dramatic if she just made a simple change.

Something small to start with.

"Choji…" she started her cheeks burning red as he looked at her with a smile. "Would you like to have dinner tonight?"

His large warm smile shining like a halo was all she needed to feel like everything would be ok.

**To be continued**


	5. Chapter 4 Best Man

**In your heart**

A NaruSaku story

Chapter 4: Best man

* * *

_In marriage never taunt with a past mistake__.  
__**- **__Maxim_

_So I'm here.  
Safe Dear.  
a fiction in your arms._

Am I no good to you now?  
Am I no good to you now?

_(So much I can do, falling apart)  
Whoa-oh, whoa-oh whoa-oh  
we're spilling over.  
Whoa-oh, whoa-oh whoa-oh  
we're falling apart._

So get me out  
Start me over  
Forever changed  
I should have told you  
Whoa-oh, whoa-oh whoa-oh  
I'm falling apart.

_~Matt Nathanson _

* * *

"Good afternoon Sasuke-Kun!" chirped a happy Ino who seemed to be floating a foot off the ground as she plopped down into a chair across from him in the tea shop where he was enjoying an—until then—quiet lunch.

"Ino." He nodded in acknowledgment before going back to the documents he was reading.

'Whatcha reading?" she tried to read over the top of the papers while simultaneously ordering a coffee from the hostess.

"Chunin exam team entries." Was his quiet reply, as if those four words said everything that needed to be said.

"Oooh Tsunade-sama's letting you proctor this year?!" she chirped happily her eyes bright and sparkly before taking a sip of her freshly delivered coffee. "That's wonderful Sasuke-kun. What part are you doing?"

For a moment Sasuke quirked an eyebrow at her before going back to the documents he was perusing. Ino pouted when it seemed like he wouldn't answer her but before she could protest he did.

"I'm refereeing the final rounds and any preliminaries if needed." He said simply but Ino sharp as always caught the hidden implication.

"What's going on? Is it the Rock again?" she asked her eyes sharp as she narrowed the possibilities in her mind. When the last Tsuchikage had passed on a power struggle had ensued with multiple factions vying for power, and the other nations had been caught up in the ensuing civil war.

"The Ash." Sasuke answered without looking up. "An old contact of mine seems to think they'll be trying to insert ringers this year."

"Again…?!!" Ino's voice was half shock, half exasperation 'You'd think they learned their lesson from last year after Hinata caught them."

Sasuke merely shrugged his shoulders and made a non-committal grunt as if he'd already gone down this line of discussion with someone else and continued reading.

Ino sat quietly nursing her coffee and contemplating a number of things; not the least of which was her dinner with Choji tonight and how she would approach it, and the burgeoning relationship between them. Her train of thought was broken though when Sasuke suddenly looked at her pointedly and asked in his usual no nonsense voice.

"Why are you so happy today?"

"That's none of your concern." She stuck her tongue out at him childishly though a slight red tint to her cheeks told him all he needed to know.

"So you and Choji are finally going out together; that's good." He responded simply and resumed reading as Ino spat her coffee into the face of another customer who yelped painfully and started cursing at Ino about getting his clothes cleaned.

"Wha-wha-how-we…" she sputtered as Sasuke smirked at her before giving the cursing shinobi a menacing glare that told him to apologize for his clumsiness and find other things to do elsewhere. The coffee covered shinobi promptly fell all over himself apologizing to Ino and left as fast as humanly possible.

"It's not that big a stretch." He answered her glare with a raised eyebrow "It was patently obvious that he's always liked you, and I saw him carrying you home last night while I was talking to Karin." He paused a moment to sip his own tea. "Also I saw Choji sporting the stupidest grin on his face this morning. I've only ever seen Naruto wear that same grin after Sakura kisses him so I put two and two together…" he answered and rolled his hand to indicate where he was heading; at which Ino promptly turned beet red and tried her best to shrink into her chair.

"It's not like that…" She sighed and saw his raised eyebrow and the pointed look he gave her. "Nothing happened last night he was a perfect gentleman, and tonight were going out for dinner that's all there is to it."

Sasuke merely rolled his eyes at her before shaking his head and resuming reading. Ino though wasn't quite through and decided to poke a sensitive topic for Sasuke in return.

Namely his relationship with the fiery red headed Karin and where it currently stood. A topic that was much in discussion around the water coolers and other gossip hangouts around Konoha, right up there with the wedding, and whether Sakura's hair was a natural pink or not.

"So you and miss redhead huh…?" she smirked as Sasuke choked for a second on the tea he was sipping at that moment; before he glared full force at Ino who merely smiled back innocently as if she had asked about how clear the sky seemed.

"That's not a concern of yours!" Sasuke sputtered when he'd finally cleared his airway, only for Ino to give an exaggerated snort and roll her eyes.

For a second as Sasuke fidgeted in his chair Ino thought about pressing her advantage and seeing if she could make the stoic Uchiha heir really squirm. But ever aware of the human psyche, she saw something in his eyes that seemed to say that something else was bothering him beyond her teasing.

"Hey Sasuke-kun I was just teasing ok?" she spoke up in a conciliatory tone before he could say anything more. "What's bothering you?" she asked directly something she'd learned was best when dealing with him. She noticed instead of answering that he was looking around as if to see if anyone was listening.

Making her decision Ino reached across the table and grabbed his hand and pulled him with a sputtered protest of surprise from behind the table as she tossed down a hastily counted tip and money to cover their tab. Then Ino proceeded to drag him to one of the training grounds which, was about as isolated as things got in a ninja village.

"So spill, what's on your mind Sasuke-kun." She demanded in a gentle voice with a touch of firmness behind it that told him she wouldn't be letting this go anytime soon.

"I'm worried Ino." He spoke slowly as if feeling out the words "I'm worried about this wedding."

"The wedding!?" Ino's shock was evident "What's got you worried? Is it Sakura?" This time her shock was replaced with anger, and the hint of a challenging edge to her voice.

"No I'm not worried about Sakura…" he began only to have Ino snort, her whispered "Not like you ever were." Not going unheard. Ino noticed Sasuke flinch and go ashen momentarily, and she winced before apologizing.

"Sorry Sasuke-kun that was a low blow." Ino felt chagrined as she knew how close the three members of Team seven were, and what they had gone through to become that close.

Sasuke merely shrugged it off; it wasn't the first time and it wouldn't be the last time he'd get such abuse, but he'd endure it as long as he lived rather then allow such a betrayal to happen again.

"Don't worry about it..." he shook it off before turning and looking right at her. Onyx eyes locked with cerulean blue as if he were deciding whether he could trust her with this. She bore up under the scrutiny and he nodded his head in acknowledgement before speaking again. What he said though threw her completely for a loop.

"I'm worried about Naruto."

"Naruto!!" Ino nearly shouted out loud before laughing, and causing Sasuke to reassess whether he should have spoken aloud in the first place.

"Oh come on Sasuke-Kun." She poked him in the shoulder causing him to narrow his eyes at her. "He's fine. Seriously; you should have heard him last night at the club. Did you know he can play piano?" she asked.

"Yes." He answered simply looking at her shocked expression, and giving her a look as if to say "_What? You didn't?"_

"Wait! You knew too!?" she shouted causing him to wince at the volume. "How? When?" The sputtered questions popped out one after the other.

"Since we were kids." He said simply "My family was there the night of the recital." He paused a moment as he processed the memory, a short look of pain flashed through his onyx eyes and Ino couldn't help but sympathize. "My father was the one who carried her to the hospital where she died; my mother took Naruto home that night with Itachi, and me."

Ino shuddered at the mention of Uchiha, Itachi. It was just plain odd to hear Sasuke talk so casually about his older brother, the man whom he had spent most of his life obsessing over for revenge. The man who was responsible for killing his entire clan leaving Sasuke as the only survivor. the man who had joined Akatsuki the organization who had nearly succeeded in killing Naruto.

The man whose name incredibly now sat engraved on the memorial tree in the center of Konoha; where the names of all the heroes who sacrificed their lives for the village now lay carved into the trees iron hard bark.

To this day Ino still found it hard to believe the information Sasuke and Naruto had revealed to the village. Hard to believe, and even harder to accept, yet when Yamato-Taicho had first created the massive tree in the center of the newly formed lake; Naruto had insisted that the first name carved into it had to be Uchiha, Itachi.

Shaking off the ruminations for another time she looked seriously at the last Uchiha, and listened as he spoke up.

"I'm not worried about Sakura, because she's strong enough." He explained "She always has been. She was the heart of our team long before she trained with Tsunade-sama."

"She might get down or even a bit upset but she'll pull through like she always has." He finished and Ino nodded in agreement. She remembered her and Sakura talking on the balcony of the club last night. Even if Ino tended to still see Sakura as a fragile little cherry blossom she was always strong. Still that didn't add up to Naruto being in some type of trouble.

"So's Naruto…" she began only to have Sasuke interject "But he's not Ino!"

"He's strong on the outside, but on the inside he's far more fragile than anyone realizes!" The intensity in his voice caused Ino to step back wide eyed and Sasuke realizing her fright took a breath and slowed down.

"He's been alone for so long…" he paused a moment "Now all of a sudden he's everyone's hero. He's getting married to the girl of his dreams, he's being acknowledged by everyone like he's always wanted." He paused a moment to let Ino digest his words before continuing.

"And it's too much Ino. I'm afraid he's going to crack under the stress." He spoke seriously Ino looked like she wanted to say something but he cut her off again "I know." He said as if reading her thoughts "Put him in a fight and he's fine, but this isn't a battle. That bloody mask he wears is beginning to crack, and I'm afraid that one wrong word, one misconstrued incident will push him over the edge."

Ino took a moment to chew through all that she had been told. Her keen mind searching thoroughly through every interaction she'd had with Naruto recently. She focused her attention on Naruto specifically and tried to see if she'd missed something.

It was with a shock that she suddenly realized she had. Nothing major stood out but small things she remembered did. The same grin, the same shining eyes, but now that she looked closer at her memories, a hint of strain around the edges of that grin, the slightest troubled look that would flash in his eyes ever briefly the closer they got to the wedding. Small things that he would quickly hide especially when Sakura was around; distracting her by acting goofy or stupid; which would inevitably result in Sakura's temper exploding.

Small things that showed that Naruto might be better at reading Sakura then people realized. A person used to hiding behind a mask and who may be uncomfortable stepping out from behind it now that it was no longer necessary.

"I'll talk to Sakura about it." She spoke finally "If anyone can bring him around it's her."

-ooOoo-

She was about to say more when suddenly Sasuke stiffened and then she squeaked as she found herself being carried in Sasuke's arms. She felt a rush of wind and then heard a massive explosion from where they had just been standing. Sasuke set her down on the branch next to him before turning the red of his Sharingan on the spot of the impact.

"What the hell was that?!!" Ino cursed out loud as she waited for the dust to clear.

"Naruto and Lee…" Sasuke spoke up, and Ino nodded. A world of explanation in three words, she watched closely as a green and orange blur flashed over the training ground at dizzying speeds.

For a moment they separated as Lee connected with a thunderous spin kick that sent Naruto sprawling; only for Naruto to bounce up like a spring and launch himself at Lee like a meteor. The crack of Naruto's knee smashing into Lee's jaw caused Ino to wince, and then shake her head as he two began another round of back and forth attacks; fists and feet flying like hail in a storm.

As the two went at each other moving at speeds that boggled Ino's mind she slapped her palm against her forehead, and groaned. "Sakura's going to kill both of them."

"Not if they kill each other first." Sasuke's quiet response caused her to look over at him and she was struck at just how much he was like one of the great red hawks she saw at the Konoha zoo. He was perched on the branch his arms at his sides like wings being readied to take flight. His Sharingan eyes focused on the battle below as if he were waiting for an opportunity to dive and strike. Then she looked closer at the battle taking place and was shaken with the realization that this was no mere sparring session.

This was a fight.

Suddenly she felt a massive wave of sheer killing intent wash over her. A wave of murderous pressure emanating from the fight below that drove her to her knees, and took all of her self control to keep her breakfast down. "T-T-This is…" she stuttered

"Shit!" Sasuke cursed and suddenly he was gone vanishing from the branch in a blinding burst of speed.

He reappeared in between Naruto and a downed Lee who was lying in a crater trying to get up. His hand locked in a vice like grip around Naruto's raised arm in which he held a powerful Fuuton-Rasengan. The wind chakra filled ball of raw energy howled like some demonic chainsaw that was hungry for the blood of its master's opponent. The dark crimson of the Sharingan locked with the blazing slit eyes of the Kyuubi. For a moment Sasuke felt his knees turn to jelly at the raw murderous power and emotion blazing from those eyes, and he nearly bolted. The thought raced through his head _"Dammit! He's really going all out! He's really going to kill us!"_

Then a flash of red popped into his minds eye. Red hair, red eyes "_Karin!" _He thought, and suddenly his knees solidified and he grabbed his courage hard. The Sharingan spun like a tornado, and he drove his power into Naruto's eyes trying to break through the crimson rage and the demon that was pushing his best friend to murder.

"Naruto!! Stop!!" He yelled trying to break through the blood and fury that was roaring through his brothers ears. He pushed the power of the sharingan further feeling the pull of chakra to his eyes. He felt Naruto push forward and his feet giving ground as Naruto tried to get to Lee in his fury. He felt a sharp sting on his cheek and warm blood flowing down it as a flare of wind chakra sliced him open. He ignored the pain and continued to push. Finally he felt the resistance give and he found himself inside the sewer like mindscape of the seal. And there before him was the greatest of the tailed beasts; the Kyuubi no kitsune. But it wasn't the nine tailed fox that drew his attention in spite of its roars of rage at his intrusion.

Instead it was the small figure on the ground surrounded by a whirl of red chakra that he went to. The chakra snapped at him, but it was the sharingan that had power here and he walked confidently through the blood red storm, the crimson chakra parting before him like a boat parted the waters before kneeling down by the small blond figure.

"W-w- what are y-you doing here?" the small childlike representation of Naruto's mind asked him while crying. For a moment Sasuke was stunned at the realization of what must be happening. He knew Naruto was having troubles but this was worse then he imagined. The last few times he had used his sharingan to do exactly this; the mental representation of Naruto had always been the same as his outer appearance. But now if his grasp of psychology was any good at all, this meant that Naruto was regressing in more ways than one.

"I'm here to take you home Naruto." He sighed softly as he kneeled and put his arm comfortingly if somewhat awkwardly around his teammate.

"Are you my friend?" the crying childlike figure looked up at him with wide hopeful eyes. And Sasuke couldn't help but be shaken by the memory of a younger Naruto sitting alone on a swing as people passed him by. It was the same hopeful look that would flash in his eyes whenever anyone would look at him with anything other than contempt, or hatred, or indifference. For a brief moment his own hatred for the village bubbled up inside him, but he quickly shoved it back down and locked it away before smiling warmly at the small figure before him.

"Yes; were best friends Naruto." He smiled and then stood up and turned and offered the small boy his back. For a moment Naruto seemed to consider him as if wondering if he could trust the person before him. Then he made up his mind and crawled up on his back.

"So were going home now?" the small hopeful child like voice came over his shoulder.

"Yes." He replied "I'm taking you back to Sakura now." he felt the childlike weight squirm in his grasp but held on tighter. "Don't you want to see Sakura?" he asked Naruto.

A hesitation and a sob proceeded soft words which caused his eyes to widen in shock. "She hates me…"

"No she doesn't Naruto." He chuckled at the absurdity of it, even though he couldn't help but be shaken a little by the memory of a young Sakura sitting there and answering Kakashi's question "_The one I hate is…Naruto!" _

"She loves you very much and you know it Naruto." He reassured him but only silence greeted him and he looked over his shoulder to see that the child like representation was fading away and being replaced with the more adult version, while simultaneously the Kyuubi was receding into its cage. Sighing softly Sasuke left the mindscape of the seal and came back to him self. Though it felt like he had been in the seal for several minutes he knew it had only been for the briefest of moments.

The Fuuton-Rasengan had dissipated and Naruto's eyes were slowly changing back into their usual deep blue. In those eyes Sasuke saw a deep and abiding pain, and he didn't want to see it. It reminded him too much of his own pain and it was a pain that didn't belong in those eyes.

"Feel better?" he asked standing up and releasing his grip on Naruto's forearm.

Naruto's eyes strayed to the cut on his cheek before he looked away shamefully. He opened his mouth to speak, closed it, then opened it to try and say something before he finally looked away and decided to say nothing. Sasuke could see his shoulders shaking visibly as if Naruto were shaken to his core by what had almost occurred.

A stir behind him caused his head to turn where he saw Lee being helped up by Ino who had leapt down to pull the injured Tai-Jutsu specialist out of harms way.

"Naruto-kun!" The younger Gai clone spoke up loud and clear. "I gladly accept your request, and would be proud to stand by your side at the wedding to your beloved!!" he finished with a wide sparkling grin and a thumbs up in spite of the condition he was in.

"Wait!!" Ino snapped out. "Are you two telling me this entire mess was about you being asked to be one of his grooms men?!" she stared incredulously at them both, before throwing her arms in the air in exasperation which caused Lee to flop to the ground with a surprised squawk, her long blond ponytail lashing back and forth like the tail of an angry cat. "I swear; Sakura is going to kill the two of you, and if she doesn't I will!" She snarled at them and both seemed chagrined. Naruto seemed to sink even deeper into himself at the mention of Sakura.

"Thanks Lee..." He muttered before suddenly shooting skyward and vanishing over the village.

"NARUTO UZUMAKI GET BACK HERE!!" Ino shouted to the now empty sky before tuning in a huff to Lee who cringed under the combined glare he was receiving from the two standing over him. "And you!!" she snapped at him causing him to shoot to attention in spite of the battered state he was in. "Do you have to turn everything into a challenge?!!" she shouted "When are you going get it through that thick skull of yours that she is in love with Naruto!!"

"But Ino-san!" he snapped out crisply "I do know that!" He said quickly "their love is most youthful and glorious! Sakura-san seems to glow when she is around Naruto-kun. He makes her very happy and that is what is most important!"

"Then why…?" Sasuke began only to have Lee cut him off with a fire in his eyes as he shook his fist in his intensity. "Because I could see how troubled Naruto-kun is!! His every dream is coming true but it is as if the fires of his youth are being drenched in the preparations!!" he shouted loudly trying to make them understand.

"I thought that maybe I could reignite the fires of his youthful passions by making him fight for that which is most precious to him! Then are battle escalated into such a brilliant show of youth that I took my weights off and…" Sasuke and Ino groaned simultaneously. Ino slapped her hand against her forehead for the second time, while Sasuke looked to the sky as if praying for strength.

Any further conversation was put off at the appearance of several Shinobi including a few ANBU.

"Uchiha-san, Yamanaka-san." The bear masked ANBU acknowledged them coolly. "Would either of you like to explain why we felt an enormous killing intent, and a dangerous chakra coming from here not more then a few moments ago?"

Sasuke could only sigh, and shake his head. It seemed he would not be able to finish his lunch after all. Ino shook her head also, and wondered quietly what else could possibly go wrong.

-ooOoo-

Naruto may have been flying over the roofs of Konoha, but his mind was rapidly beginning to outpace his body.

"_What did I do?"_ The thought burned in his brain over and over again; the flash of red chakra, the roar of the Kyuubi, the crimson curtain of raw rage that had descended over him at the end of his fight with Lee. And dominating all of it; the image that had precipitated the whole debacle. Sakura in Sasuke's arms, it had just popped into his head. An image sent by the damned fox, he was positive of that.

But more worrisome to him was the timing. It had only been three months since wave, three months since the fox had attempted to influence him during his battle with the trio. It had used his rage and pain over Sakura's attack to try and slip its bonds then. But now so close to the wedding it had tried again, and this time it had nearly slipped its leash even just slightly, and worse had used the one mental image that still gave him doubts.

That was what was driving him insane with worry and stress. **He Knew!!** He knew!! He absolutely knew that his Sakura-chan loved him with all her heart. He knew that she only thought of Sasuke as a friend and brother and teammate, and he felt the same.

"_But there was just so much history there_." A tiny voice that sounded suspiciously like a younger version of his own whispered in the back of his mind. It would explain why Sakura had been so crazy lately. She'd become so stressed out that she clearly wasn't acting like herself anymore. It had to be the wedding; it had to be the thought of marrying him. _"A monster…"_ The voice whispered in his head, the same voice which had been whispering since the Kyuubi had tried to slip its leash over three months ago.

And no matter how hard he tried he just couldn't silence that voice. That nagging edge of doubt, that feeling like icy fingers running down his spine; that it was his fault.

His thoughts were interrupted as with a sudden lurch he felt his chakra just give out and gravity grab him with its iron grip. He yelped in shock as he suddenly plummeted like a lead weight and the unforgiving ground rushed up to greet him.

-ooOoo-

For Sakura the last couple of days had her near the end of her rope. The wedding was approaching like a fireball jutsu and was proving to be nearly as explosive. It was bad enough that "The Slut" was here but now word had come down that both the Mizukage, and Raikage were also going to be in attendance.

She nearly had a fit then and there and half threatened to call the whole thing off, and then half threatened to take Naruto and elope. Tsunade's calm explanation that this was the wedding of the century, and that they were two of the most famous people in the shinobi world went only partly heeded as Sakura was too busy trying to get the blood to stop roaring through her ears, and keep herself from knocking the smirk off her beloved Shisou's face.

Eventually her mother had arrived to discuss further wedding preparations and had promptly calmed her down. But the stress was still there. She knew she should be happy. Every one of the girls; Ino, Tenten, Hinata, Temari, Rin, her mother, even Anko, and Shizune, and Ayame had thrown in to make the wedding a success. But in many ways lately Sakura felt like she was just along for the ride most of the time.

She prided herself in having taken control of her destiny and having built herself up from a purely mundane shinobi into a kunoichi mentioned in the same breath as the legendary Sannin. Through hard work and determination she had made something of herself, where once she had been merely average and destined to obscurity; thanks to Naruto, and his brilliant inspiration. His life and death struggles had driven home to her just how far she had to go. So she had embraced his example, and dedicated her life to pushing her limits. In the process she had discovered much about her teammates and a lot about herself as well.

She had discovered that the pain of her own childhood was minor in comparison to the pain Naruto and Sasuke had gone through. She'd learned that both had suffered for the burdens they carried; for Sasuke the burden of hatred he had taken on willingly, and for Naruto the burden of the greatest of the tailed beasts which he had taken on unwillingly. Yet both had persevered in their own ways and risen to be better than anyone else in the ninja world.

And she; she who had once considered herself nothing more than a burden to them both, she had changed most of all. Once lost in nothing but a fairy tale and the illusion of what love was, had discovered what it truly was at the side of the very person she had once—foolishly, childishly, stupidly—claimed to hate.

**She knew!** She knew with all her heart that she loved Naruto! It had been made painfully clear to her how much she loved him; when on the rain soaked ground of Amegakure the final battleground chosen by Madara for his ultimate plan. She had poured all of her heart, soul and love into a single kiss. A kiss which said everything she just couldn't bring herself to say at the time given how her words had failed her in the past.

Inwardly Sakura cringed as she remembered her first botched confession to Naruto in the snows of Iron country. In a twist of irony she, like Naruto before her when learning the Rasenshuriken had been trying to look left and right at the same time. She had been trying to protect him from the potential pain of losing Sasuke, while simultaneously confessing to him that she was open to his feelings, ready to see him as more. Trying to tell him of the special place he had taken in her heart.

But he hadn't believed her he had been so convinced that she would always love Sasuke that her attempt to divert him from his promise, combined with her surprising revelation about her feelings had caused him to push aside her confession.

He hadn't been ready for the change she offered, and in her shock—She had never even considered that he wouldn't react positively to her openness—she had fired back angrily causing a small rift between them. She had grown beyond such childish notions or so she thought, and who was he to tell her how she felt and what she was being truthful about? Who was he to dismiss her feelings so easily? So she had gone to confront Sasuke. Her intentions being to protect Naruto by putting him down permanently in spite of the pain it would cause her, and with the certainty in her broken heart that Naruto would hate her and then turn to Hinata.

But Madara had laid a trap for her, and left Kiba and Lee and Sai beaten badly. It was only Naruto's timely intervention with Kakashi and Yamato that had saved them all, that and the surprising intervention of Karin that kept her from becoming a hostage for Madara to use to draw Naruto into his grasp. Sai—the sneaky bastard—had left an ink clone behind to tell Naruto what she was planning and of course Naruto had come to the rescue. It was Karin though who had helped her put things in perspective. She had helped her escape only after asking her two questions which had resonated in her heart since that day. What did Naruto mean to her, and what would she do to save him.

On the way back to Konoha things had been decidedly chilly between them; a quality not easily attributed to the cold weather. But before they could make full amends they had been accosted by Danzo and his Root operatives. Word had not yet reached Konoha about Danzo's betrayal of the Alliance and thus he was still acting Hokage. All of them had been placed under restriction with Naruto being jailed under the Hokage's office under heavy guard. Danzo had then allowed sound shinobi into Konoha under the pretence of a peace agreement with the Sound and its leader Kabuto who he had saved by nearly assassinating Anko Mitarashi; an attempt she only barely survived. His final attempt to appease Madara had failed drastically though, and he had paid the ultimate price for his hubris. But Konoha had nearly paid a worse price when it was discovered that Naruto with his chakra sealed and unable to defend himself, and had been taken by Madara.

Sakura paused in her walk back to Konoha from the brief trip she had taken to a small village nearby for a medical consult before she left for her honeymoon. She clenched her chest as her heart was pounding painfully and a sob welled up into her throat at the memory. It had been a waking nightmare for her. The worst possible scenario, the very thing she had been trying to protect Naruto from in the first place. And she had been nearly destroyed on the spot by the horrified thought that she would never be able to see him again. Never be able to work things out with him. Never be able to tell him how she felt without the specter of Sasuke, or that thrice damned promise hanging over both their heads.

Surprisingly it was Hinata who with her quiet voice had asked her directly what they should do. The shy Hyuuga heiress had nearly died in the fighting to free Konoha, and while her voice was quiet her pearl like eyes held a powerful determination that seemed to burn into her own tear filled emerald ones. It was then and there that Sakura remembered what Karin had asked her before she had freed her.

"_Who is Naruto to you?" the red head paused and adjusted her glasses "What would you do to save him?"_

Everything and anything that had been her answer; he was her most precious person, the light and inspiration that had driven her to be better then she was. Her precious teammate and the man she had slowly but steadily fallen in love with. The man who according to Sasuke had been the one she had been in love with all along. Her mind raced through the aftermath of the rescue, and the horrific final battle between Team Seven and Madara. A battle which had nearly been the end of all of them, especially Naruto whose brave nearly suicidal final attack had finally ended the Uchiha founders immortal life permanently.

She had been so happy then, crying as she held him close to her unwilling to move or let him go for fear that he would fade away if she did. And now; it seemed like she was losing him all over again. All of the preparations for the wedding were driving them further apart rather then close together. She could see the stress in Naruto's eyes, he thought she didn't see but she did. He would attempt to hide from her by acting stupid and trying to intentionally push her buttons—Which would work more often then not—but she could see through the grins, and the smiles and the act. And it scared her, it scared her a lot. That damned fox grin of his was coming back and she was scared because she'd thought that they had gotten past his need to use it.

It was like the moments after they had made love in the resort, when he had tried to deflect her concern. She had snapped then and given him an earful. Sakura thought they had finally gotten to a better understanding then but now she was becoming more afraid as the time drew nearer.

More afraid of that final commitment, and whether it would be enough. Could she give him all she had for the rest of her life? Could she be the person for him that she had promised him she would be? Or would she fail to keep her promise, and be crushed under the weight of her own self doubts? Self doubts that it seemed Naruto now shared.

Too many questions; Gods she needed some perspective. Maybe she could talk to her mom or Ino when she got back. Things had been so crazy lately she hadn't had a chance to really sit down and speak to either of them for long due to the need to constantly be on the move, constantly going to one appointment or the other to prepare for the wedding; appointments for the dress fitting, the rehearsal, the tasting at Choji's restaurant, and so on and so forth. It was enough to drive one to drink and for a moment she understood why her Shishou drank as much as she did.

Any further thoughts she had were interrupted as even a few miles outside the village she suddenly felt a distinctive and enormous wave of malevolent chakra wash over her like a fog before being blown away by the breeze.

"Naruto!!" she shouted out loud before suddenly leaping to the trees like a shot. She raced forward her heart hammering against her chest as she ran in fear of the unknown enemy that could make him draw upon that power with such intensity. She never even paused as she raced past the gates and towards one of the training grounds almost running over someone in her haste. A curse was shouted out behind her to watch where she was going but she paid it no heed as she raced to where her love battled the demon he held. The feeling of the malevolent chakra died down as she ran but she never slowed in her pace determined to be there for him and protect him with all she had.

"_I'm coming Naruto! Please hang on!" _

-ooOoo-

The impact against the roof of the building was bone crushing, and was made worse by the fact that his momentum was not stopped. Instead he caromed off the roof and slammed face first into the unforgiving waters of Lake Uzumaki.

The lake centered in the middle of Konoha was the result of Pein's Shinra-Tensei and was created in the crater left at the epicenter of the blast which had leveled the majority of the hidden village. In the middle of the lake which was formed by converging two of Konoha's rivers into the center through judicious use of both Suiton and Doton Jutsu was a small island upon which a towering oak tree sat. The massive trunk and its branches reached up to the sky a living representation of the village in all its majestic glory. Upon its iron hard bark were carved the names of the fallen, those who had paid the ultimate sacrifice for Konoha.

It was here at the roots of the memorial tree that Naruto after skipping across the water like a stone came at last to rest. Pushing himself up he managed to make it as far as one elbow before he coughed and spat up blood. With a pained groan he collapsed onto his back and stared up at the blue sky overhead and the branches swaying in the wind.

"Naruto!" someone was calling his name with a concerned tone. He opened his now bruised and blackened eye and through the blurred vision caught a flash of long dark purple hair and a concerned female face sans the catlike ANBU mask she wore "_Yuugao…"_ he recognized the ANBU operative who had been a teammate with Kakashi sensei and who had been like a big sister to him when he was younger.

"Don't move Naruto you took a bad fall. I'll get someone to bring Sakura here…" she started only to have him suddenly look away

"No don't want help just want to be alone…" He muttered while trying to turn away from her. The image of Sakura in his mind crashed down on him and he just wanted to curl up into a small ball and cry.

"Naruto answer me…" Yuugao's voice was concerned but firmer and more insistent now. "What happened to you?"

"I fell…" he muttered over his shoulder at her not wanting her to see the pain and anguish on his face that couldn't be attributed to his injuries. Injuries which the bloody Kyuubi was already healing on its own; instead of letting him wallow in his pain like he wanted to. Did the damned fox always have to interfere? Did it always have to influence his life in some fashion? The mental cursing he sent at the Kyuubi was enough to curdle fresh milk but the fox greeted his vitriol with only silence.

"You're lying…" She scolded him and her tone caused him to wince. "So what…" He threw his over his shoulder, the unspoken "_Go away_!" hanging between them.

"When do you fall?" her tone was both conciliatory and a little challenging. As she laid a comforting and gentle hand on his shoulder causing him to sit up slowly as he turned to her.

"I fell in love didn't I?" He whispered and his body shook at the flash of long pink hair and bright green eyes, and the loving smile from a pair of lips that he had kissed ran through his mind.

"Ahh I see…" Yuugao replied quietly her tone remaining neutral not giving away what she saw.

"See what?" he turned slightly to look at her over his shoulder but she only smiled mysteriously. At least he was responding to her. It was a start.

"Talk to me Naruto…" she prodded gently "Tell me about falling in love with Sakura."

"I'm losing her!!" he shouted and stood up so suddenly it startled her "I love her so much every day and I'm losing her!!" and as he turned to look at Yuugao his eyes burned and the tears came unbidden and he couldn't stop them no matter how he tried. As he collapsed to his knees Yuugao scooting under him to support his weight as she hugged him closely. And then he just let go and cried.

After a moment he seemed to settle and took a second to wipe his face clean before looking at her vest now wet from his tears apologetically. "Sorry…" he began to apologize but she merely raised an eye brow at him and waved him off. "It'll wash out."

"Feeling better now?" she asked and he nodded though he still looked like he might curl up hide in a hole at any moment. "Why are you losing her do you think?"

"Because…!!" he shouted suddenly then shook his head as he discarded the answer, and the next one; each one seeming to be more ridiculous then the next. "She hates me she said so…!" he started only to have Yuugao appear in front of him eye to eye her dark eyes burning into his sapphire blues with such intensity that he nearly stumbled backwards.

"When she was twelve and a child." She spoke quietly but with an intensity that willed him to understand and to let go of the doubts and subconscious fears that were plaguing him. He was trying; she could see the conflict in his eyes as he tried to reconcile the truth of his feelings with what he was saying.

"But Sasuke…" he began only to have her cut him off again.

"But Sasuke nothing!" she scolded him. "Stop making excuses, stop blaming others for your own insecurities!" he looked down but she continued to drive home her point. "When you were kids it was easier wasn't it? Easier to believe that she could never love you; that she could only ever have feelings for Sasuke you even convinced yourself so well of that fact that when she came to you and confessed you accused her of lying!" this time he did look down the pain in his eyes palpable as his heart clenched at his own stupidity.

"And now…" she paused a moment to collect her thoughts and let him stew in his own juices for a moment. "…and now when she so clearly does love you, and you have a chance to spend the rest of your lives together you're letting your fear and self doubts get the better of you." She let him have her final salvo the one she'd been saving to really drive home how foolish he was being.

"It's easier to make excuses and blame the wedding, or the Kyuubi or Sasuke and her old feelings for him then to face the fear and stand up like a man. Easier to hide behind that stupid grin, and let your doubts eat away at you then to follow through with your promises isn't it?"

This time he looked her directly in the eyes his anger building but she didn't look away all but challenging him to take a swing at her, and undeterred she plowed on willing him to see the truth. "Do you love her?"

He looked shocked as if she were insane for even asking the question and pouted as if she'd just insulted him but she didn't let him off the hook so quickly.

"Do. You. Love her?" She asked once more emphasizing each word to make sure her point was driven home. He vacillated for a moment chewing over his answer before quietly responding.

"With all my heart… But it doesn't matter any way!" he snapped still not quite willing to concede the point yet. "She'll be happier without me…" he began only to yelp in pain when Yuugao her patience wearing thin finally swatted him on the head hard. He pouted at her his eyes wide in shock but she merely raised an eyebrow at him as if daring him to contradict her.

"Stop sniveling like a baby." She sneered at him "Sakura's hit you a heck of a lot harder then that and she's had more provocation to do so. You're just lucky she isn't here now or you'd likely be using your flying ability to get back from Suna."

He couldn't help it he snorted at the mental image of Gaara's face as he crashed into his office and splatted on his desk; then broke down laughing. For a moment she looked at him like he'd gone crazy then as he laughed her shoulders twitched and then she too laughed as the same image entered her own mind; though hers was a little more contained. His though was genuine she could tell, and she hoped that he was finally past the last of his self doubt and torture.

"Thanks Yuugao-neechan." He chuckled a little more and she smiled before hugging him softly. "I was being stupid wasn't I?" his words were more statement then question but she merely nodded.

"You're welcome outoto." She chuckled herself before sighing then she pushed back from him and looked him in the eyes one more time, noting this time that his eyes were now clear and he was looking at her instead of away.

"Do you love her?" she asked pointedly.

"With all my heart." He answered and the smile he gave her as he did was warm and genuine and he seemed to glow with the realization of it.

"Then go get her baka!" she chided him "Get married ,have babies, do married couple things." She shooed him off and he turned and leapt skyward with a joyous shout before vanishing over Konoha. Yuugao took a moment to catch her breath and shook her head at his enthusiasm. She then looked at one of the names engraved on the trees bark taking a moment to run her fingers over it.

"Oh Hayate they're so much like we were, I hope they have a happier ending then we did." She whispered softly to the wind.

Yuugao stood there for a moment and as she raised her mask she felt a breath of wind flare her waist length purple hair out, and caress her cheek almost as if she were being kissed by the breeze. She closed her eyes a moment and smiled before hiding her beautiful features behind her catlike ANBU mask.

"_Yes love I think so too."_ She smiled then vanished as if she had never been there at all.

-ooOoo-

"Sasuke!! Ino!! Where is he? Where's Naruto?!!" Sakura shouted at the two who were standing in the hospital lobby as she ran up to them.

She had hurried to where she felt the Kyuubi's chakra coming from, only to find a couple of teams of Chunin and Genin cleaning up one of the training grounds which looked like a bomb had gone off in it. She had asked what had happened only to feel her heart drop into her feet when one of the Chunin had told her that a fight had broken out and one of the participants had been taken to the hospital. She had promptly bolted for the hospital leaving the Chunin standing there slack jawed before he could explain who. This brought her to her current predicament as she tried to make it to the hospital in time.

She knew Naruto wouldn't want anyone except her or her Shishou to work on him and would even bypass the hospital entirely until one of them was available. She had scolded him on more than one occasion about such reckless behavior and his only response had been that maybe he'd allow Ino to also but he still felt safer with her. She had of course huffed that he was being childish but inwardly she felt a burning pride that he felt only she could truly help him.

"Where is he Sasuke-kun?!" she asked the concern in her voice palpable as she tried her best to calm down and asset her professionalism, but she was having trouble doing so as the stress of the past couple of weeks had begun to really overwhelm her and this new event wasn't helping any either.

"Ino! How bad is he hurt?!" she turned and accosted her maid of honor who she started to shake in her intensity. She was stopped from practically ringing Ino's neck when Sasuke took her hands and pulled her around with some difficulty—she was exceptionally strong—to face him.

"He's fine Sakura he wasn't hurt." He assured her and she noticed for the first time his cheek had a blood soaked bandage on it. Seeing the question she wanted to ask in her eyes he sighed and explained.

"Lee challenged him for your hand…" he paused as her eyes narrowed and he gulped softly as he could see the vein in her forehead beginning to pulse. The one that usually meant along with her knuckles popping that someone—usually Naruto—would be getting a painful beating for pissing her off. "…They fought and Lee took it a bit far, combined with the stress of the wedding I think he just lost control a little…" he explained only to have Sakura look at him as if he were crazy.

"A Little?!!" she snapped "Sasuke-kun I felt that chakra a mile out from the village!" she began to scold him only to have Ino chime in.

"He knows that forehead!" she said defending her former crush "He put a stop to it and helped calm him down!"

"But why Ino?!" she turned on her "Why is this happening to us?!" she wailed "All we want is to be married, and we can't even do that in peace!" She ranted her stress finally breaking through her control. "The weddings been turned into a circus and were the main attractions, we've even had a sideshow with the Kyuubi and "The Slut" here!"

"And what's next?! The Mizukage and the freaking Raikage and his brother are coming! I mean gods is Kirabi going to want to sing at the wedding?!!" She continued on a roll now before finally running out of steam and collapsing to her knees tears running down her cheeks.

"All I want is to be married to the man I love and now this…" she began to sob "it's all falling apart on us!" she sobbed as her emotions spilled over. Sasuke looked helplessly at Ino who shook her head before he knelt down and awkwardly put his hand on her shoulder.

"Sakura…" he spoke quietly but firmly trying to get her attention "Sakura look at me."

She hesitated for a moment her body shaking as she sobbed and tried to regain her composure. Finally though she took a hanky that Ino offered her and smiled gratefully as she wiped her nose and eyes clean before looking at him.

"Sakura I know things have been crazy for you…" he began and she rolled her eyes, and he did the same seeming to realize how stupid that sounded but he pressed on, secretly he wished Karin was here instead of down in the Konoha archives she was always better at this sort of thing than he was. "…For both of you, but this…" he paused as if to gather his thoughts "This isn't like you at all."

Sakura looked like she wanted to protest but he continued before she could "You've both been through far worse than this and come out better than before, and this situation is no different."

"Do you love him?" He asked her directly onyx eyes looking directly into her emerald ones. Once such a gesture from him would have made her the happiest person alive, but now it just made her feel respected. Now it was a pair of sapphire blue eyes that made her weak at the knees when they looked into hers, and so she answered with a warm smile.

"With all my heart." She answered and the smile on her face was too genuine to be false causing Ino to smile as well.

"Then when he comes here you'll talk, and work things out." He answered calmly "Maybe even take a small break outside the village at the hot springs; I'm sure Ino wouldn't mind a little pampering." He smirked in her direction only to have her huff and stick her tongue out at him while crossing her arms childishly. The gleam in her eyes however was indicative of her interest.

"Things will be fine Sakura." He gave her a small but encouraging smile "You'll see; you're both going to be just fine."

As he finished she smiled brightly and hugged him warmly. "Thanks Sasuke-kun, thanks for everything." She said gratefully then smiled as she pulled back and laid her hand upon his cheek, the green glow of healing chakra easing the sting of the cut and closing the wound easily.

"Now all we need to do is find…"he began only to have Ino squawk in shock "Naruto!!"

The scene was frozen in a vivid tableau as three sets of eyes locked onto one pair of sapphire blues. A pair of eyes that took in the scene before them and began to darken as the light slowly bled from them.

"_No!" _Sakura thought, as she saw the light leaving his eyes. _"Nononono_…!" Then she realized the situation as he saw it. Her standing next to Sasuke her hand on his cheek, Ino smiling nearby, with the stress he'd been trying to hide from her over the last two weeks, and her past history.

Oh Hell No! she wasn't going to let this stand, she was not going to let him misconstrue what was a perfectly innocent moment. She was going to grab him—by his manhood if necessary—and shake him, and kiss him, and make him listen to her. But her words died on her lips as he smiled painfully and said something which caused her stomach to clench painfully.

"I hope you'll be happy."

Then he turned and leapt skyward from the hospitals grounds only to suddenly crash into the ground and skid along it. Sakura felt like she was mired in mud; for some reason her legs refused to work right and her tongue was glued to the roof of her mouth. He saw him rise up slowly and painfully and then leap skyward again only to crash a second time into a cabbage vendor's cart which caused the skinny owner to scream in horror at his destroyed wares. His cries went unheeded as Naruto rose from the wreckage a third time. This time though he didn't jump instead he raised his hands in a familiar seal. The sight of this seal caused Sakura's paralysis to break and she shot forward trying to reach him before he could.

"Naruto!!" Sakura shouted her voice piercing the air as she ran for him the tears already beginning to flow from her eyes. But she felt her heart shatter as he looked over his shoulder at her, and smiled an oh so familiar smile. It was the same smile he'd given her when he'd promised her that he would bring Sasuke back that first time. Then he vanished in a yellow flash as the Hirashin carried him off to who knew where.

As he vanished Sakura felt her knees give out on her, and she collapsed to the ground her fingers grabbing the empty space where the love of her life had been only moments before. He was gone again, and this time who knew where or even if he was coming back. Sakura's shoulders shook as she felt Ino by her side hugging her. Meanwhile standing above her Sasuke just shook his head.

"Idiot…" he muttered but there was no bite to the word and whether he directed it at his now vanished teammate or at himself none present could say.

-ooOoo-

Tsunade walked slowly into her office as Shizune trailed dutifully nearby. She was nursing a headache of considerable magnitude due to the fact that the duly elected council in its infinite wisdom had decided that the wedding of Haruno, Sakura, and Uzumaki, Naruto should be based on their ability to produce children within a timely fashion. Since Naruto was the only heir of the Fourth Hokage and Sakura's abilities were special in their own right it was announced that they must produce children within a year to ensure a valid bloodline be created.

They had nodded and clapped themselves on the back at their wisdom and then promptly been silenced when Tsunade stood up and told them all to go to hell. The enraged Godaime Hokage had then launched into a marathon rant about how the wedding was already being turned into some type of circus because of the fame of the two involved and how she had already allowed one too many concessions—VIPs, wedding advice, etc etc—and she'd be damned if she allowed this farce to continue.

She'd quickly put them back into their place and reminded them of their "_Advisory_" position before storming out with Shizune following her though not without giving them a glare of her own. All she wanted right now was to sit at her desk and just take a nice long drink to take the edge off, and then she needed to think. It was high time she put a stop to this farce of a wedding and allowed her two most precious people to get married in a quiet dignified service like they had originally wanted. Maybe she'd just up and send them both on a trip to Karakura town where people could get married for a hundred ryo and then enjoy the casinos afterward.

She was interrupted in her humorous contemplation of the apoplectic looks on the faces of the council when she had suggested just that, by the sound of someone rooting through her office. She sped up and burst through the door to find.

"Naruto?!" she asked confused "What do you think you're doing?!" she scolded him as he took her stamp and slapped it down on one of the mission scrolls she kept nearby. Her eye caught the flash of black and red that denoted a double SS rank mission "_A Suicide mission…!"_ the thought raced through her mind as he chucked the scroll at her which she caught easily before turning and looking at her with a wide grin on his face, a grin she noted that did not reach his eyes.

"Don't worry Baachan I'll bring her back ok!" he gave her a thumbs up then formed a familiar seal and before she could protest he vanished with the distinctive snap of the Hirashin.

"Why didn't he fly out?" Shizune wondered out loud before she looked at her master who was reading the scroll he'd tossed to her. She saw Tsunade's eyes widen in horror before she crushed the scroll in her hand.

"Shizune get me Sakura Haruno, and Sasuke Uchiha right now and tell Uzuki Yuugao and Kakashi Hatake I want them to find Naruto before he leaves this village, Now GO!!" she snapped and Shizune was already out the door her shouted "Hai Tsunade-sama!" floating in the air behind her.

As Tsunade sat down she pressed her fingers to her temples as she tried to soothe the headache that she felt getting worse. She contemplated the scroll he'd just signed. An SS ranked mission to the land of Lava, to rescue the Princess of the Earth country from an S-ranked missing nin holed up in a castle which was situated in the caldera of an active volcano, surrounded by lava and guarded by a thousand armed warriors; almost certainly a suicide mission by any stretch of the imagination; even for a ninja as powerful as Naruto.

As she sat there she looked out the window and caught a glimpse of the face of Minato Namikaze and she silently thought "_Oh Naruto what happened to make you choose death rather than love?"_

**To be continued**


End file.
